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#the one before was pretty but was from January!! I don’t like using art that old D:

ponett · 4 months

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Bobby's 2023 Media Wrap-Up

So! Like I said before, this past year I kept a running list of everything I watched, every game I finished, every new album I listened to, etc., and wrote one-paragraph blurbs with my thoughts on every single one. Please enjoy this journey through everything I liked, or didn't like, in 2023, with my favorites of the year listed at the bottom.

(Yes! This is long!!)

Some notes:

I mainly only included things I finished. Exceptions are marked with an asterisk.

I included some YouTube stuff as "TV shows" - mostly particularly long, high effort video essays and documentaries.

I was a bit less adventurous than I'd like to have been this year. Part of this was just that I felt like I was constantly playing catch-up with Big Releases I felt obligated to check out, and part of this was just executive dysfunction from burnout. Wait until you see how long it took me to beat Mario Wonder lmao

Yes, I need to read more books. I don't read a lot of books these days. I need to get back to Discworld.

COLOR KEY

Video Games • TV / Web Video • Movies • Comics • Music

January

1/15: Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn (MSQ) - Very slow at times, the Primal shit is generally extremely lame to me outside of the boss fights themselves, but god if the quality of life improvements over WoW, the JRPG energy, and the fact that it Actually Has A Story carry it pretty hard.

1/18: Sonic the Hedgehog: Scrapnik Island miniseries - One of the most creative and compelling uses of the Sonic IP… ever? Fantastic little self-contained arc about the struggles of Eggman’s abandoned creations that gracefully weaves between heartfelt optimism and moody horror with some of the best art ever seen in a Sonic comic.

1/18: Mega Man X4 - Glad I finally actually beat this after never even beating any of the Mavericks as a kid! I can see why it’s a lot of peoples’ favorites. The gameplay has very little of that X series bloat and is just fun, especially after getting X’s armor upgrades. (But the story really is a long series of missed opportunities.)

February

2/2: Donks - Felix Colgrave continues to be an exceptional artist. The sound design on this is fantastic and really sells this short as something unique. Had to go back and watch his older stuff again after this.

2/4: Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward (3.0 - 3.3 MSQ) - I get it now. I get why people say this is just a proper mainline Final Fantasy game built into the framework of an MMO. That shit ruled. Not even walking back the drama in Ul’Dah from the end of ARR can sour me on it because the main storyline was so strong.

2/8: Disneyland's Forgotten Sci-Fi Rock Band - Live From the Space Stage - A nice and honest tribute to a group of artists who could have easily been forgotten. In hindsight this feels like a precursor to Kevin’s Disney Channel jingle video, a tribute to the unsung artists pouring their hearts into “lesser” art for a megacorporation, art that was designed to be transient but sticks with people nonetheless.

2/9: Metroid Prime Remastered* - Not gonna finish because I just played through the Wii version in 2021, but still. Very, very pretty remaster.

2/16: Theatrhythm Final Bar Line - It’s more Theatrhythm. What more could I want

2/17: JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean (anime) - Probably the best part of the anime so far (assuming they continue on to SBR). A near perfect mix of the more structured plot of part 5 with the goofiness of parts 3 and 4 that crescendos into a fantastic, bombastic, emotional, bittersweet ending. The use of footage from the original opening and the new ending set to Roundabout in the finale were perfect, and made me intensely nostalgic for the early days of my JoJo fandom between seasons 1 and 2 of the anime.

2/22: Aggretsuko Season 5 - I don’t really know what to make of this one. Once you get past the agonizing initial arc all about Haida where Retsuko has to be his overbearing mommy GF who flips out and starts spying on him when she’s left on read and chides him when he misbehaves, it feels like an improvement over the previous seasons. But I don’t know how much of that is due to the extremely low bar set by season 4. And then the ending is extremely rushed and anticlimactic. They got legally married and the only acknowledgement was a shot of them signing the paperwork in a montage partway through the final episode?????????

2/24: Double Fine PsychOdyssey - God, what a journey the making of this game was. I already loved 2 Player’s past efforts at documenting Double Fine’s process, but this takes it to a whole new level. This feels culturally significant. The depth and honesty with which they depict not just the nitty gritty of making a game, but also the inherent struggles of working on a collaborative creative work for years at a time, is astounding. Not to mention that they were there to capture the shift from office life to remote work as COVID hit. So much of this would have been nightmarishly stressful to watch if I didn’t already know how successful the game was, but that’s just because they really didn’t sugarcoat it. And yet even after all that, it leaves me feeling optimistic about video games as an art form in a way that the constant headlines about cynical live service games don’t. There are still people out there pouring their hearts into making real art, and this is their story. Everyone who plays video games should watch this.

2/25: Cracker Island (Gorillaz) - New Gorillaz albums feel like less of an event these days, but after Humanz it feels like they’re just more chill with the project and their ambitions with it. Every couple years we get some more laid back jams from Damon along with some fun new collabs. Hard to complain. Favorite track: New Gold

2/25: Pool Kids (Pool Kids) - I discovered this band because Derek knows them and was excited when they got a song added to Fortnite through the Bandcamp collab. Always down to find more cool indie rock bands I can vibe with. The mix of dreamy vocals and energetic riffs on some of the tracks here almost fill the Crying-shaped hole in my heart. Almost… Favorite track: Conscious Uncoupling

2/25: Insane in the Rain (insaneintherainmusic) - I thought it was really funny timing when Carlos announced that his first original project would be a jazz fusion album inspired by acts like T-Square and Casiopea right as I was getting into those two specific bands. The final product does not disappoint. Favorite track: Insane in the Rain

2/26: Get Up Sequences Part Two (The Go! Team) - I’ve never been one to believe that a band’s sound has to remain exactly the same forever, but it really does hit you hard that the first two tracks here sound like classic The Go! Team. Their more recent cleaner sound is still here too, though, for a nice mix of old and new. Favorite track: Divebomb

2/28: Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury (Season 1) - Oh my god. Oh my god. I got distracted around the time I was finishing SLARPG, but finally catching up now, wow. My assumption that the seemingly lighter tone of the series compared to the prologue was there to lull us into a false sense of security before twisting the knife when war finally breaks out was spot on. This is peak Gundam.

March

3/4: Pizza Tower - One of the best platformers I’ve played in a long time. It transcends its blatant Wario Land inspirations with the sheer speed at which Peppino can move and the way things like the level design, his wall running, and even the hidden ability to do a second lap around the level reward getting into a flow state where you’re just constantly moving. This is the type of game that wants to turn you into a speedrunner. My only real complaint is a few iffy enemy designs that I wish would get patched.

3/6: Bloons TD 6 * - I bought this before bed one night on a nostalgic whim and then the next morning woke up and saw the Steam receipt email on my phone in one of the most “what did I do last night” moments of my life. I like when the monkeys pop the balloons.

3/7: The Book of Boba Fett - I put off finishing this show for a very long time but finally caved upon the release of The Mandalorian season 3. This show spends four episodes failing to make me give a shit about Boba Fett trying to be “the daimyo” and drive the drug trade off of Tatooine, then just gives up and becomes season 2.5 of Mando, which in turn feels like it undercuts the main series. It fails as both its own story and as a spinoff. I know that finishing this after Andor did it no favors, but WHOOF.

3/12: Obi-Wan Kenobi - Some interesting ideas in the first half hinting at a more introspective show, but it’s mostly swept aside in the back half so it can become a generic Star Wars adventure remixing things from A New Hope and Rebels (and apparently Jedi: Fallen Order). Action scenes have zero stakes because you know nothing can happen to any of the returning characters and none of the new ones are particularly interesting. Why there’s a second climax hinging on a Luke Skywalker death fakeout eludes me. Obi-Wan throwing the rocks at Vader is one of the funniest things in Star Wars history. But it was still better than Book of Boba Fett, I guess.

3/19: The King of Braves GaoGaiGar - Wow, cool robot indeed… GaoGaiGar isn’t going to blow anyone away with its writing, but sometimes you just need a really fun monster of the week mecha show with great action and lovably goofy characters. This is a show where like 20% of every episode consists of recycled transformation, combination, and signature attack sequences and I ate it up every time because they look fucking cool as hell. I don’t care. I’d watch Final Fusion another 49 times.

3/21: The Last of Us (HBO) * - Watched the first two episodes out of curiosity, but I’m not sure if I’ll continue because I don’t give a shit about The Last of Us. It’s definitely a well done adaptation, though, even if I know it’s inevitably going to devolve into miserable torture porn with questionable politics if they adapt Part II faithfully. The ending of episode 2 also lines up perfectly with where I stopped in the game in 2013 lmao

3/27: The Future is a Dead Mall - Decentraland and the Metaverse (Folding Ideas) - Another banger from Dan Olson. This time the premise inherently gives him more time to just show off a bunch of stupid ugly bullshit made by crypto guys, which is fun. My main complaint was that I wished he would’ve brought up Second Life more as a point of comparison (a thing I basically always want out of discussion of “the metaverse”), but he at least did touch on it in the last section.

3/31: The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog - I can’t believe after years of begging for the supporting cast to get more and better material in a Sonic game I got my wish in the form of a freeware murder mystery VN released for April Fools. This kicked ass.

April

4/7: Berserk - Completed Miura’s run and caught up on the chapters that have been released posthumously. It’s hard to say anything that hasn’t been said about Berserk, universally agreed upon as one of the greats of manga and fantasy fiction as a whole. What begins in its first few volumes as a nihilistic and edgy action comic built to facilitate as much sex and gore as possible quickly evolves into something deeply human and vulnerable and beautiful, both figuratively and in terms of its lavish art. The world sucks and is immeasurably cruel, and you will see that cruelty illustrated in graphic, sickening detail repeatedly throughout the series. (Perhaps a little too often throughout the Golden Age, where it feels like Miura never misses an opportunity to threaten Casca with sexual assault mid-battle.) But the point isn’t to wallow in that misery. It’s the story of a victim of horrific abuse learning to slowly open up to others, having those people he cares about torn away from him in the worst night of his life, hardening himself into a cold killing machine, and then slowly learning to open back up again, even if it means leaving himself vulnerable to more hurt. Anyone who says that the series peaked with the eclipse and went downhill in the “Guts’ JRPG Party” era is missing the point. Guts needed to find new people in his life to care about, to begin to find happiness again. Because no matter what unspeakable things Guts has gone through, it’s still possible for him to heal and to be loved. It takes time, but eventually you stop and realize that life has moved on.

4/8: Dedede’s Drum Dash Deluxe - Skipped it upon release because I didn’t particularly care for the minigame in Triple Deluxe, and I didn’t miss much. It’s fine as a little distraction, but not as a standalone rhythm game with only seven songs. If you don’t bother with the hard modes or chase after high scores this game is 15 minutes long. Oh how I yearn for Kirby to get the Theatrhythm treatment.

4/10: The King of Braves: GaoGaiGar FINAL - Eh… It was okay. Lots of cool robot fights, but said fights are stitched together with a mediocre plot that tries too hard to be more “mature” than its unabashedly schlocky kids’ show predecessor. Not crazy about the ending, either, which tries to be a bittersweet farewell closing off the series once and for all while also teasing that maybe there’ll be ANOTHER sequel after the OVA series they literally called “FINAL.” Ah well.

4/11: The Owl House - Sad to see this one go, but it’s hard to imagine them doing a better finale than this, even if they had gotten the six seasons they deserved. I’m not as obsessed with The Owl House as I probably would’ve been had it come out when I was, like, 20, but it’s a really fantastic show for all the reasons people always say. Great characters, great world, great story. I love that this starry-eyed fantasy story about a teenager finding love and a place where she belongs is also set on the rotting corpse of a titan with Hieronymous Bosch-inspired scenery and freaky monsters everywhere. What a great mix. If anything, I just wish I would’ve watched the first season as it aired so I could’ve had more time with it.

4/29: Mega Man Battle Network 3: Blue Version - FINALLY beat this via the new collection, 20 years after playing it as my first Mega Man game. (Technically my first was White, not Blue, but whatever.) There are more annoyances than I remember - lots of really really bad forced backtracking sections where you have to revisit every previous part of the internet, low chip drop rates, some really aggravating bosses like BubbleMan and KingMan, etc. But it’s still a great time overall. It’s Battle Network. In the back half the story gets surprisingly emotional, too. I was always under the assumption that the Hub stuff never came back up much in the story after 1, so I was pleasantly surprised with how relevant it was to the emotional arc of 3.

4/30: Mega Man Battle Network 4: Red Sun * - Yeah I’m not playing through the whole thing lmao. I just wanted to play the first couple hours for nostalgia’s sake, and as a baseline for how much better the rest are. Even before getting deep in the game and having to deal with all the shit gated between doing two new game+ playthroughs, it’s immediately obvious how much of a downgrade this one is. Tons of glaring errors and typos all over the script, blander music, a way more boring aesthetic for the internet, and a premise that mostly just recycles the tournament idea from 3.

May

5/14: The Venture Bros. - Glad I finally sat down and watched all of this with Anthony after having seen one (1) episode as a teenager and a bunch of random clips in the years since. Great show. Some jokes in the early seasons haven’t aged gracefully, but what the show grows into over time... man. Hank and Dean go from being the butt of the joke to being characters you actually sympathize with - while still also being funny little goofballs. And the journey Henchman 21 goes on throughout the show. Man. Amazing that a comedy like this could run for 20 years and maintain its level of quality. Can’t wait for the movie.

5/18: Future Me Hates Me (The Beths) - Okay yeah I’m now just discovering bands through Fortnite lmao. I can’t complain really, they pick some really great indie artists for the in-game radio stations. Anyway: It’s very easy to win me over with a combination of energetic power pop, catchy guitar riffs, and earnest lyrics like this. One of those albums where three or four tracks in I know I have to buy it. Favorite track: Not Running

5/18: Jump Rope Gazers (The Beths) - Ditto. Favorite track: Dying to Believe

5/18: Expert In A Dying Field (The Beths) - Another good album. (I’m listening to these in release order.) I’ve been a bit slower to warm up to this one, initially thinking it was a little too mellow overall, but it might be my favorite after a few listens. Some real high highs. Interestingly, the lead singer’s New Zealand accent is also coming out more in her singing? Favorite track: Your Side (or maybe Head in the Clouds)

5/19: The Super Mario Bros. Movie - As a Mario fan, I think I enjoyed it? As a movie, less so? It was decent, in spite of feeling like they came up with a list of fun action setpieces first and then wrote the absolute bare minimum possible for the story scenes tying it all together. Full thoughts here. (This is the first movie I’ve seen this year, huh? I really don’t watch a lot of movies.)

5/23: Don't Know What You're In Until You're Out (Gladie) - I feel like I don’t like Gladie as much as I should. Their style of noisy indie rock is very much in my wheelhouse, and I do enjoy listening to them, but I dunno. Maybe it’s that the particular style of vocals makes it more monotonous to me. A good album nonetheless, if not 100% my thing. Favorite track: Nothing

5/24: City Slicker (Ginger Root) - Yes I am still making my way through Bandcamp artists I heard on Fortnite don’t @ me. Any excuse to get me to listen to some cool city pop-inspired funk like this is a good excuse. Favorite track: Loretta

5/24: Rikki (Ginger Root) - Favorite track: Why Try

5/25: Spotlight People (Ginger Root) - Favorite track: The Classic

5/29: Succession - A good dramedy series that increasingly focuses more on the drama than the comedy as it progresses, but it’s hard to complain about that since the drama is so compellingly produced. I enjoyed it. That being said, I kind of rankle at the claims that it’s The Greatest TV Show Of All Time. It’s great, don’t get me wrong. Amazing performances all around. But the show LOVES to spin its wheels, to repeat itself, and to let most of its interesting dramatic developments fizzle out before anything really comes of them, almost as if the show is constantly getting bored with its own ideas. To some extent this is intentional - Logan Roy is the untouchable billionaire, his kids fail at everything (but will nonetheless remain billionaires), and in the long run none of them really give a shit about anything other than their own status. But it’s not like things tend to visibly impact anyone else, either, be they supporting characters or the world at large. Even the Big Scary Election, where the Roy siblings are directly responsible for plunging the nation into chaos, ultimately has zero impact on the finale a mere two episodes later. Certain Other Things do have an impact in the last season, though, allowing things to meaningfully change for the cast and for the show to sit with the ensuing drama, which has stopped me from souring on Succession more. There was finally a payoff for something. But it does still kind of feel like a show that goes in circles until it’s ready to call it quits, even if those circles did contain a lot of great acting and music along the way.

5/29: Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts - I’d watched the first 12 episodes when they originally released, but I guess the Netflix binge release and the fact that all three “seasons” came out in one year led to me waiting until it finished… and then I just never got around to finishing it. Glad I fixed that! Really fun and stylish cartoon with an art style reminiscent of Teen Titans, a hip hop-filled soundtrack, dynamic fight scenes, and a colorful post-apocalyptic world filled with mutant (mostly anthropomorphic) animals. I’ll admit that at times I do kinda roll my eyes at Kipo’s unshakeable belief that everyone can be friends in a way that I don’t necessarily with similar shows like Steven Universe, and not every joke lands, but I dunno. It’s a kids’ show. That’s to be expected. It doesn’t detract from the overall package for me.

June

6/1: Craig of the Creek (Season 4) - It’s been years and I’m still processing the fact that kids can turn on Cartoon Network and hear Jeff Rosenstock. Anyway! Craig continues to be one of the best cartoons on TV, consistently funny and creative and way more engaging than a show about a bunch of kids LARPing in the woods has any right to be. This season turned into One Piece with the gang effectively hunting down the Poneglyphs in search of a legendary treasure. The kids think it’ll be magic. It isn't. An increasing number of cartoon logic gags aside, this show is firmly set in the real world. Does that make it any less interesting? Hell no. Season 3 turned a game of capture the flag into an all-out five episode war between the heroes and villains, filled with dramatic turnabouts and a climactic guest appearance from Del the Funky Homosapien. I’m sure however they wrap things up in the (sadly shortened) final season, it’ll be great. (Also? I would watch a whole show based on that “what if” episode that jumped forward to everyone’s 20s.)

6/6: Barry - Holy shit, what a show. I ended up binging it in less than a week in a cycle of “okay, just one more episode.” The way this show is able to swing between tones and genres while still feeling like a cohesive whole is truly masterful. It’s a layered character drama, a tragic crime thriller, a farcical comedy, an understated action series, a surrealist morality play, and a scathing satire of Hollywood, all in one. Even within the criminal underworld subplots the show ranges in tone from Breaking Bad to Paddington 2. And it works! While the show naturally gets bleaker over time as it confronts the repercussions of Barry’s murders, it never completely loses sight of its comedic roots. My favorite episode was easily season 2’s “ronny/lily,” a mostly self-contained episode that somehow manages to keep throwing the perfect curveballs to escalate its dark comedy.

6/12: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (Extended Edition) - Y’all heard of this movie? Pretty good, it turns out. (I’d seen the theatrical cut before, but this was my first time watching the extended edition. I’ve also only seen parts of the other two movies, so it’s time I finally watch all the extended cuts. The Gollum game pushed me to this.)

6/13: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (Extended Edition) - give it to us RAW and WRIGGLING

6/17: The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Extended Edition) - I’m not crying YOU’RE crying

6/22: Clone High (Season 2) - While the first episode being about “cancel culture” (or, more accurately, a teenager from 2003 being transported to 2023 and putting his foot in his mouth a lot) put a lot of people off, I ended up enjoying the new season of Clone High. The new clones grew on me as the season went on and their roles in the web of teen romance melodrama crystalized, and it made me laugh a lot, and Cleo/Frida is galaxy brained. Also they played one of my favorite Antarctigo Vespucci songs like a minute into the first episode. I don’t think I could really ask for much more.

6/28: The Mandalorian (Season 3) - I'd been watching this weekly but put off the last episode for no real reason. Responses to this season have been all over the place, but my blistering hot take is… it was fine. Is it as good as the first season? Probably not. But Mando no longer needs to carry the whole franchise on its shoulders and set the bar for how good the live action Disney Star Wars shows can be, because Andor exists, and it’s never gonna top Andor. The Mandalorian is free to just be a pulpy space adventure show where Giancarlo Esposito plays a scenery-chewing cartoon villain and a little puppet does wire stunts. These are things Andor cannot and should not do, but that’s Star Wars, baby. It’s delightful. I could watch Grogu get underhand tossed like a sack of flour all day.

July

7/2: Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury (Season 2) - LOVE WINS. (More nuanced take from way later: It definitely feels like a lot of the more messy political conflicts in this show got swept aside by the big final battle where some more easily resolved family conflicts take center stage. I’m not sure the ending is the most satisfying. But also this show only got half the episode count that damn near every other Gundam show ever made got, so that might be a factor here. Idk. Still one of my favorite Gundams.)

7/4: Final Fantasy XVI (watched Anthony play) - I had to write my longest Medium article ever about this one because I was so frustrated

7/10: Home Movies - “Things I like that I’ve never seen in full” has certainly been a recurring theme this year. Home Movies remains an all-time classic of animated comedy that went out on a high note before things got stale or the characters became parodies of themselves. While it’s mostly known for its funny improvised banter, throughout the last season you can really see the arc where Brendon no longer enjoys making movies, yet he feels obligated to keep using them to escape from the real world. In that light, the ending where the nature of their dysfunctional makeshift family is cemented, Brendon’s camera suddenly breaks, and life moves on really does feel like the perfect note to end on. Truly one of the best to ever do it.

7/15: The Legend of Zelda - Tears of the Kingdom - Wow. Just… wow. I had serious doubts about TotK in the months leading up to release due to how close Nintendo was playing their cards to their chest. I didn’t want this to be a Saints Row IV, where the game is fun enough but the recycled map makes it feel like a rehash. Instead, I found a game that made me look at BotW’s map in a whole new light, brimming with so many more things to do and people to meet. Add on a better, more versatile set of tools, more varied dungeons and bosses, and a story that I felt was told somewhat better and we’ve got a real contender for my new favorite Zelda game. It was hard to tear myself away, but as this list shows, it’s been basically the only game I’ve played since it came out.

7/16: Sonic Prime (Season 2) - I liked the parts with Shadow and Chaos Sonic, but I’ve come to the sad conclusion that most of this show is just mediocre. More thoughts here.

7/18: We ♥ Katamari Reroll + Royal Reverie - “I’m a dog, but I love Katamari Damacy.” Truer words have never been spoken.

7/19: Transformers: Rise of the Beasts - Pretty good! It didn’t blow me away, but after how bad the Bay movies got I’m just thankful to have a decently cohesive Transformers movie where the human story is okay and I like the bots (although half of them needed more screen time), even if it is just another Hollywood blockbuster about two sides fighting over a macguffin that devolves into a big CGI battle against an army of nameless monsters in the third act. This is basically a mid-tier MCU movie but with Transformers, which won’t do much for most people, but again: the bar was underground.

7/22: The Venture Bros.: Radiant is the Blood of the Baboon Heart - God DAMN. A phenomenal ending for the series. While I would have loved to see a full final season to get some more one-off episodes in there, this doesn’t feel creatively compromised in any way–either due to the time constraints, or due to a desire to make it more marketable as a movie. It really does feel like they just took their outlines for the canceled final season and gently massaged them into the shape of an 84-minute movie, and I mean that in the best possible way. It’s completely on par with the previous seasons. A hilarious and fitting sendoff for one of the greats of adult animation.

7/23: Beautiful Katamari - This was one of my first Xbox 360 games, but a frustrating temperature-based level made me put it down for 16 years. “Maybe it won’t be as bad now that I’ve beaten the first two games and am better at Katamari,” I thought. Nope! Still an absolutely dogshit level. But also, turns out the whole game is only like two hours long lmao. It’s still Katamari, so it’s still fun - the final level in particular, which seamlessly takes you from ground level all the way to space, feels like a logical endpoint for the series - but beyond that it just doesn't have the same soul without Keita Takahashi's input.

August

8/4: Doom Singer (Chris Farren) - I’ve been waiting so long for Chris and Jeff to do another Antarctigo Vespucci album, but god damn. This is the best of Chris’s solo work, and a contender for his best record, period. Every track’s a banger, with more energy than some of his previous solo work but also a good deal of variety. Favorite tracks: First Place, Cosmic Leash

8/4: Transformers Earthspark (Season 1) - This show had a bit of an uneven start, unsure if it wanted to have the emotional maturity of a more serious action cartoon or a preschool cartoon where the characters have little kid mood swings and outbursts and learn basic lessons. It also felt like it was speedrunning its Wholesome Found Family Dynamic with characters who just met, which didn’t feel earned. While these problems never completely go away (see: the cheap and corny way the otherwise very dark season finale suddenly resolves), the show improves quickly, and the positives outweigh the negatives. It’s so great to have a Transformers cartoon that feels fresh, giving us a post-war setting with a bunch of new characters and new dynamics between the Cybertronians and the humans. The returning characters are also uniformly great as the old veterans overseeing the new generation. (Reformed Megatron! Danny Pudi as Bumblebee! Steve Blum returning as Starscream! Keith David as Grimlock!!!) And those super dynamic action scenes! I can nitpick, but Earthspark’s a ton of fun, and easily the best new Transformers cartoon since Prime and Animated.

8/5: Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective (remaster) - Everyone who told me this game was a masterpiece was right. I had played the first chapter when it dropped as the demo for the iOS version years ago, but never went further than that until now. What a game. Absolutely incredible through and through. Great story, great twists, great characters, great puzzles, great art direction. Everything comes together so perfectly to form a totally unique, unforgettable package, a top tier video game murder mystery. Everyone should play this, preferably going in as blind as possible.

8/15: It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (Season 16) - Wow! Recent seasons of Sunny have been kind of up and down, with some interesting experiments (Mac Finds His Pride, the Ireland arc, etc.) paired with some comedic duds. Most of this latest season is standard fare for the series with fewer big creative swings, but it’s just hit after hit in terms of comedy. Not a single dud, whether we’re seeing Mac and Dennis try to start a rental business for inflatable furniture or watching the gang meet Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul, believing the entire time that the latter is Malcolm from Malcolm in the Middle. Even the attempts at topical comedy landed better. Easily the funniest season in years.

8/16: One Piece Film Gold - It’s easy to see why this one has kind of been forgotten in the wake of Stampede and Film Red, which revolve around established fan favorite characters, but this was still pretty fun. Perhaps a little too long, but it’s fun to see the Straw Hats fool around in a giant casino and do a heist. They definitely cranked the fanservice up even more than usual in this one, though, as I probably should have expected for a movie made alongside the anime’s adaptation of Dressrosa.

8/17: One Piece: Stampede - This one goes for a different kind of fanservice. While most One Piece movies are isolated from the ongoing plot and its expanded cast of characters, Stampede instead asks “What if we just put damn near every active character on the same island and had them fight?” The answer: a fun time! It would get old if all of the movies were like this, but after a bunch of movies that are just like “the Straw Hats are gonna land on another new island and fight some more weird guys” it’s fun to see characters like Law and Buggy and Smoker get in on the fun. It’s also nice to get a movie with the Wano era art style, and Usopp surprisingly gets some really good character moments in here.

8/18: One Piece Film Red - This really is the best of the One Piece movies, huh? (Baron Omatsuri is a close second.) It really feels like a change of pace after the last four with the most interesting and emotionally engaging story out of any of them. And even if the events of these movies are never canon, it still feels significant in my understanding of Shanks as a character as we move into the final phase of the manga.

8/21: Pikmin 4 - The opening hour of the game made me really question if they’d changed too much, with all the focus on your new dog unit over your Pikmin and the extremely dull, drawn out dialogue scenes with your new companions back at the base. But once I got into the swing of things I had a blast. This is probably my new favorite Pikmin game. There’s a great mix of activities here to keep things fresh. I also really ended up liking Oatchi’s role as basically your second captain who can also serve as your tank or a rideable mount. The Dandori stuff and nighttime missions in particular show off how useful Oatchi is for your multitasking without necessarily overshadowing the Pikmin.

8/22: Never Get Tired: The Bomb the Music Industry! Story - I literally backed this on Kickstarter eight years ago (my name is in the credits!) and then never got around to watching it for no reason. It’s on YouTube now, and Jeff’s got a new album out next week, so now feels like the perfect time to watch it. And man… what a great documentary. Obviously I’m just a fan of the band, but this also really spoke to me as an artist. Jeff wanting to stick to his principles and give out his music for free and play cheap all ages shows, his discomfort over the idea of selling merch, and the struggles that come with not playing the game like that… It's hard. They readily admit that Jeff is an idealist, that people fight him on this stuff, that he’s missed out on some big opportunities because of these stances, and that he’s had to compromise a bit on some of these things over time. But that incredible climax with their final show, including a full opening performance of the slowly building “Campaign for a Better Next Weekend” and the closing performance of “Future 86” where the whole audience is singing along as the members of the band are hugging and crying… it’s beautiful. This may have been a band where the members had to go back to their shitty day jobs after every tour because they weren’t selling out arenas, but their art meant something to people, and that makes it all worth it.

8/25: Nimona - I haven’t read the original comic (yet), so I can’t compare them too much, but it’s nonetheless pretty apparent that some things were softened and easy kids’ movie jokes were added by the studio to squeeze this graphic novel for teens into a PG animated movie. Regardless, the emotional throughline hits REALLY hard, particularly the very blatant trans allegory and the climax. (It’s no wonder Disney was afraid of this movie seeing the light of day lmao.) The animation is also very squishy and fun to watch throughout. Great movie.

8/26: Puss in Boots: The Last Wish - Spider-Verse really has done so much for animation, huh? This one was as good as everyone said. Beautiful use of stylized color and lighting throughout, and every time this movie very conspicuously shifted to different framerates for a flashy fight scene it owned. Very cute and heartwarming story, too, which thankfully gave its second act plenty of time to explore the cast and let them go on their journey, unlike a certain plumber movie that came out a few months later. Also I would let Death [redacted]

8/28: Holocure: Save the Fans! - This isn't really something I can beat, but I've been addicted to Holocure lately. I don't even watch VTubers aside from maybe seeing a funny Korone animation every now and then, this is just a really, really good freeware Vampire Survivors clone with a huge roster of varied characters to pick from.

8/31: HELLMODE (Jeff Rosenstock) - A new album from Jeff is always a major event for me. If there were any worries that he was starting to go soft at 40 (because one of the three singles off this album was a gentle acoustic piece), the frantic opening of this album put those worries to rest. The first two tracks are Jeff screaming out for help as he’s pulled in a million directions by the chaotic state of the world, a theme that becomes the thesis of the album. I’d say it lags slightly in the middle, but overall this is another extremely well-rounded record full of bangers that’s unapologetically Jeff, with possibly my favorite closing track he’s ever done. Favorite tracks: I WANNA BE WRONG, 3 SUMMERS

September

9/3: One Piece (live action, Season 1) - They did it. I can’t believe it, but they did it. While I have my nitpicks (Usopp and Sanji don’t get enough big moments to shine), this is an extremely solid and faithful adaptation of the first few arcs of One Piece with a great cast. For the most part the changes feel smart and logical, and the big emotional beats of the story are all there and executed very well. I doubted it a little in episodes 2-4, where the Orange Town and Syrup Village arcs saw some major changes to shift the action indoors, and the increased focus on the drama in favor of repeating every gag and battle from the manga 1:1 took a bit of getting used to, but by the end I was having a blast. It’s a different take on One Piece, but it still feels like One Piece. Genuinely very excited for season 2.

9/4: Pseudoregalia - A great little N64-style 3D Metroidvania focused on platforming and very satisfying movement. I always love entries in the genre that are less prescriptive in what order you have to tackle areas in, a la Symphony of the Night or Hollow Knight, and this one’s great in that regard. While there are a number of new moves to find, most of the map is open to you very early in the game, and smart use of your moveset can allow you to “sequence break” without even realizing it. (You would not believe how long I went without getting the wall run.) I do wish it had a map, but that’s already being patched in.

9/6: Bomb Rush Cyberfunk * - Not a bad game at all, but I quickly remembered how bad I am at skating games, so like… eh? Not sure I have much desire to play past chapter 2. Also the soundtrack is sadly kinda hit or miss for me outside of the obvious Naganuma tunes.

9/9: The History of the Minnesota Vikings (Dorktown) - Jon Bois never misses. Even as someone who doesn’t actively follow sports, Jon Bois is a master storyteller, using graphs and statistics and funny anecdotes to explore these deeply human stories. He can convey why people care so much about these teams, these people, and sports in general, and how our popular sports reflect on American culture. He could tell the story of just about any team or player in any sport and I just know I’ll come out the other side a misty-eyed fan. And what a fascinating cast of characters we have this time, with origin stories for everything from the Hail Mary pass to a Minnesota state supreme court judge to the Griddy. Nine hours well spent.

9/10: Timespinner - A fun and highly polished Metroidvania that maybe doesn’t quite have enough of its own identity in its quest to replicate Symphony of the Night…but also, like, this was pitched as a Symphony throwback on KickStarter in a pre-Bloodstained, pre-Hollow Knight world, so I can’t really blame ‘em! Stopping time to avoid boss attacks is fun, the pixel art is gorgeous, and I liked the dark science fantasy story about warring empires and meddling with time a lot more than I thought I would - lore journal text dumps and all.

9/14: The Decay of Sam & Cat (Quinton Reviews) - All the stuff at the end with Matt Bennett (the actor who played Robbie on Victorious and Sam & Cat) in this was really good and sweet. It’s that kind of thing that makes these videos feel like they’re still worthwhile on some level. But the padding and the things Quinton chooses to spend the colossal runtime on does drive me more and more insane with each passing Nick sitcom video. I don’t know how much longer he can keep this schtick up. I hope he’s able to move on to other things before too terribly long instead of continuing to extend this “miniseries.”

9/19: Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales - AKA Insomniac’s Marvel’s Spider-Man 1.5. It’s fun for the same reasons Peter’s first game was fun. I had a good time swinging around New York again in preparation for the sequel, and there’s a lot of cute stuff with Miles becoming Harlem’s neighborhood hero, but WOW did the Underground v. Roxxon conflict fall flat for me.

9/20: I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson - I understand so many posts now.

9/25: Spider-Man (2002) (rewatch) - It’s you who’s out, Gobby! OUT OF YOUR MIND!

9/25: Futurama (Season 8) - I was ready to be a hater, recalling the fact that Futurama has already had three “perfect endings” with the show getting a little weaker with every revival. Then I watched the first new episode on a whim and thought it wasn’t bad, so I was like, eh, sure, I’ll watch the rest. Overall Hulurama is hit or miss. There are chuckles to be had, and it sure as hell beats modern Simpsons, but almost every episode is either a belated take on an overplayed Topical Issue (the pandemic, Amazon, cancel culture, etc.) or a direct sequel to an old episode people liked. Or both! It’s also really noticeable that certain voice actors sound way older - Billy West is struggling with the Fry voice in particular, and it hurts his comedic timing. But just when all hope seemed lost after the nigh-incomprehensible toy-themed anthology episode, possibly the worst episode of the entire series… the last episode, where the Planet Express crew explores whether or not the universe could be a simulation, was really, really solid. Great note to end on to make me not regret my time with this season as a whole.

9/26: Spider-Man 2 (2004) (rewatch) - Once the GOAT, always the GOAT.

9/27: Spider-Man 3 (rewatch) - Revisiting this movie for the first time since I saw it in theaters… it’s not bad. It’s fine! It continues to have the heart and sincerity that make the first two movies work. It’s just not as concise with three villains vying for the spotlight, but I also wouldn’t cut any of them, necessarily. I guess Eddie/Venom would be the easiest, but Peter getting the black suit and giving in to his resentment feels too central to cut. (Yes, even with Emo Peter becoming a meme.)

9/28: Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake - I wasn’t really sure what to expect with this one, especially since I was never really a fan of the genderbend episodes in the original show. (At the time they mostly just felt like an excuse to crank up the teen romance stuff to 11.) But MAN. This was a fantastic coda to the original series. It made me care about Fionna and Cake and their friends as their own characters separate from their original counterparts, it gave the Simon/Betty arc a much more satisfying (if no less bittersweet) resolution than the original finale had time to do, and it even managed to be a multiverse story that didn’t make me roll my eyes in 2023. A+ all around. Makes me wanna rewatch the original show again. [spoiler: I did]

9/29: Meanwhile (aivi & surasshu) - It’s been a whole decade–they were busy with, you know, all the music in Steven Universe, among other things–but we finally have a new aivi & surasshu album! Their chiptune/piano fusion style is familiar, but they’ve definitely grown as composers in subtle ways. Favorite track: Time Travel

October

10/1: This is Financial Advice (Folding Ideas) - A lot of the nitty gritty finance law stuff turned into white noise for me, but still, great video. I had no idea that the GameStop stock craze devolved into this bizarre cult that thinks they’re going to crash the global economy and rise from the ashes as the new kings with the value of their GME stocks. Glad this video exists to try and balance out the narrative.

10/5: Sonic Frontiers: The Final Horizon DLC - Good ideas, absurdly frustrating and tedious execution. Full thoughts here.

10/10: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (rewatch) - I didn’t plan this, but very fitting that I would end up rewatching this on 10/10.

10/12: Half-Life Alyx but the Gnome is Self-Aware (wayneradiotv) - ha he! (Seriously though, that finale was a fucking masterpiece. The RTVS crew has an incredible knack for using the framing device of video game livestreams to blur the lines between comedy and horror, or ironic anti-humor and complete sincerity. I’ve never seen anything else like this.)

10/15: Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse - Not sure how much I can say that hasn’t already been said. The most visually creative movie I’ve ever seen, grounded by some really excellent storytelling about Miles (and now Gwen) that’s probably better than his actual comics. But it also does feel like it’s about to end and then the movie just keeps going like ten times over lmao. Can’t wait to watch this a second time on a better TV.

10/20: Sonic Superstars - A mostly really solid and fun 2D Sonic game that’s unfortunately dragged down by an extremely hodgepodge soundtrack and some overly drawn out boss fights. I spent HOURS trying to beat the final boss of the bonus scenario (which is required for the true ending in this one) before giving up. Really a shame that that’s the note I’m leaving the game on, because I otherwise enjoyed it, but ah well. More thoughts here.

10/27: Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 - Another good Spider-Man game from Insomniac. Liked the story more than the one in Miles Morales, but maybe not as much as the first game. Extensive thoughts here.

10/28: Venom - Was in the mood for more Venom after the game. As expected this was not a very good movie, but the dynamic between Eddie and Venom made it a fun watch. Tom Hardy is constantly about to shit his pants in this movie. It’s great.

10/28: Venom: Let There Be Carnage - I had a way better time with this one. Is this a good movie? No. But it cranks the insanity of the first movie up to 11. Goofy as fuck in an extremely watchable way.

November

11/5: Pluto - An absolutely masterful series that anyone interested in sci-fi needs to watch. The anime adaptation was great, and I immediately understand why people who’ve read the manga speak so highly of it. Really makes me want to get into Astro Boy more, and also read some of Urasawa’s other works.

11/18: Scott Pilgrim Takes Off - Wow, just wow. When news of a Scott Pilgrim anime broke I was cautiously curious to see if we’d get a more direct adaptation of the comics, and instead it veered off in the exact opposite direction in the best way possible. This is almost entirely a different story, one that’s in conversation with the previous versions (sometimes in very meta ways), and I think it’s really valuable to see O’Malley revisiting these characters with new things to say about them. The major story divergence gives us a chance to examine the characters from a new angle - particularly Ramona, who’s the real protagonist of this version, and the evil exes, who completely steal the show. This was a great reminder of why I fell in love with this series as a teenager. I now genuinely hope we get more Scott Pilgrim.

11/22: Void Rivals (Issues #1 - #6) - The first arc of the new Robert Kirkman series that kicked off Skybound’s new “Energon Universe” is now complete, and I’m left thinking Void Rivals is… okay? I thought the first issue was a decent (if not particularly original) sci-fi comic with an appealing art style, which just so happens to also briefly have a Transformer in it so there can be a Big Surprise. And the series still hasn’t quite shaken that feeling to me. It’s an okay sci-fi series that arbitrarily dedicates a couple of pages of every issue to something from Transformers, but I’m not really sure what the shared universe stuff adds to Void Rivals, or what Void Rivals adds to Transformers and GI Joe. I guess we’ll have to wait and see.

11/22: Journey to EPCOT Center: A Symphonic History (Defunctland) - Yeah, gotta be honest, I only got halfway through this one. It seems like Kevin just 1) really wanted to push himself creatively and 2) make a love letter to Epcot, and while I respect that, I think it suffers as a historical documentary. It’s Fantasia but for the creation of Epcot. That might be very impressive on a technical level, but it feels more like a piece of Disney propaganda than prior Defunctland videos due to a lack of context and nuance.

11/24: Aperture Desk Job - A short, sweet, and funny little tech demo for my new Steam Deck set in the Portal universe. More effort was definitely put into this than was strictly necessary.

11/26: ESCHATOS - I am not good at bullet hell games, but I enjoy them from time to time and I really love this one’s FM synth soundtrack, so I picked it up on a whim in the Steam sale. I only beat it on Easy, but still, I had a lot of fun with it! It’s straightforward but very flashy, with the camera dynamically zooming around from set piece to set piece at ridiculous speeds and each level segueing directly into the next. The lack of a powerup system on the main mode in favor of just needing to know when to use your different shot types makes it feel very approachable.

11/27: Lunistice - A great little 3D platformer with a good soundtrack that I had fun hunting down all the secrets in. This is an easy recommendation for fans of games like Kirby or Klonoa - whimsical games set in colorful dream worlds where the underlying story can get a bit more somber. (Although the story in this one is mostly told through mildly cryptic lore dumps, so your mileage there may vary.)

11/28: Spark the Electric Jester 2 - The leap from 2D to 3D here is impressive, but this is very clearly a rough draft for Spark 3. Very, very fun Sonic-style 3D platforming, but the combat is lacking and the storytelling is just kinda bad. More extensive thoughts on this and the above two games here.

December

12/2: Fortnite (Chapter 4) - This was my first full chapter of Fortnite, after having been roped into the game by the siren songs of Zero Build mode and Goku during Chapter 3. This means it’s harder for me to compare this chapter to previous ones, but still, Fortnite remains a genuinely very well made Battle Royale shooter that’s a blast with friends. If I have any complaint about this Chapter, it’s that they would regularly introduce zany ideas and then slowly reel them back in, whether it was the Augment system or the increasingly mundane movement items. It also felt like it was a little too easy to get the perfect loadout in every match, meaning the final showdown would almost always be against players with Slurp Juice and gold shotguns. And I missed the smaller mid-season map updates of Chapter 3. But overall I still had a really good time, and look forward to playing more for the foreseeable future.

12/4: Plagiarism and You(Tube) (HBomberguy) - This will get written off by many as “YouTuber drama,” but this really is an excellent video essay that feels like the kick in the pants that YouTube needs. If video essayists are gonna be a major source of information for so many, then they gotta have standards. I also think it does a good job of highlighting the people that have been plagiarized and trying to drive more attention their way in an attempt to right those wrongs.

12/6: Transformers (Skybound comic) - We only got the first three issues of this in 2023, but I just HAVE to say something about how incredible this series is here. Daniel Warren Johnson is knocking it out of the park. This is the new bar for Transformers. The hand-inked art is extremely dynamic and full of character, and the story is using the familiar beats of G1 Transformers but doing very new things with them. You can tell this from the very first page, but the emotional scene of Optimus accidentally crushing a deer in the forest and realizing how fragile life is on Earth sealed the deal for me. And yet in the very same comics Optimus can do suplexes and clotheslines and lord knows how many other wrestling moves on Decepticons, and it doesn’t feel like tonal whiplash? These comics just fucking rule, and anyone with even the slightest interest in Transformers should be reading them.

12/8: What We Do in the Shadows (Season 5) - [spoilers] WWDITS has very much settled into being a status quo show. Every season has its own little arc where one or two things change to keep things interesting, but then everything returns to normal by the end. Guillermo finally becoming a vampire, only to become a human again in the end, might just be the most egregious example of this yet. But also… the show’s still really funny? And I continue to be happy that Kristen Schaal has stuck around as a series regular as the Guide. So it’s hard to complain. I could see the show running out of steam over the next few seasons, but it’s still hitting for me right now.

12/12: Pony Island - Finally got around to this since the trailer for the sequel dropped. I feel like playing this years later in a post-Inscryption world where Pony Island is a known quantity kind of lessens its impact, but still, it’s a fun and funny puzzle game where you try to hack your way out of a possessed arcade machine. I’m not sure I found it particularly scary, but I’m not sure it’s supposed to be? The way the game messes with you during the Asmodeus “boss fight” was probably the highlight for me. I also like being able to say things like “The part where you have to not kill Jesus was so hard. I kept getting terrible butterfly patterns.”

12/16: Breaking Bad VR but the AI is Self-Aware (wayneradiotv) - As always, Wayne and co.’s commitment to the bit is unrivaled. This kind of got interpreted as just a way to troll HLVRAI fans, but so many moments in this genuinely made me laugh out loud.

12/18: Soul of Sovereignty Prelude - As someone who would list Cucumber Quest as a big creative influence, I was naturally very excited for this first chapter of GGDG’s new visual novel. Their mentality of both scaling things back in terms of labor while also going more shamelessly self-indulgent in terms of storytelling after burning out on making webcomics has really spoken to me, and WOW, the end result of that new process of theirs is shaping up to be something really special. The art and music are sparse but extremely evocative, giving you the rough sketch of the world and letting your mind fill in the rest. The story blends literary high fantasy vibes with the style of fantasy seen in ‘90s JRPGs (you can definitely tell this came from an idea for an RPG), but rather than constantly winking at the audience and making self-aware video game references it plays these storytelling ideas extremely sincerely, giving them real dramatic weight while still indulging in fun tropes to their fullest extent. While it’s a far cry from their most famous work with much more mature content, GGDG always excels at creating characters and worlds that immediately grab me. I can’t wait for the rest.

12/18: Barbie - I’m only… what, five months late for the whole Barbenheimer thing? Perfect timing. Anyway! On the one hand, I get the critiques saying that this movie is just a major corporation funding a self-aware feminist critique of their own product as a marketing ploy. And I kinda agree with that. And the movie is a little too long, and I don’t really know what to think of the way the Barbie/Ken conflict plays out. Anthony asked me to summarize what the story ended up being about, and I had no idea what to even say. But also… I did still like the movie? We don’t get a lot of cartoonish, absurdist, fourth wall breaking comedies like this anymore, and this is a good one of those. Also the whole cast is great, the set design is kind of stunning, and the cinematography is consistently appealing. I wouldn’t say it’s a revolutionary work of feminist filmmaking by any stretch, but it’s a good comedy movie.

12/21: Dr. Stone: New World - Man, Dr. Stone is great. I’ve said this many times, but I just love that this series uses all the trappings of shounen that would normally be used to hype up the protagonist learning a new move to instead hype up things like the protagonist building a loom or a hot air balloon. It’s shounen Bill Nye. I didn’t completely love everything about the Treasure Island arc this season, but it all built towards a really fun climax with a lot of satisfying turnabouts where the heroes use their ingenuity to just barely win.

12/23: The History of Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out World Records (Summoning Salt) - Truly one of my favorite Summoning Salt videos ever, even with how repetitive Punch-Out can get to watch. It’s just so hard to beat “and that runner… was me.”

12/24: Super Mario Bros. Wonder - What more can be said that hasn’t already been said? It’s the best and most creative 2D Mario game since the ‘90s. The only real flaws are that it’s a little easy, the Search Party stages are annoying in singleplayer, and I wish that every boss prior to the final boss wasn’t just some form of Bowser Jr. fight. But those aren’t nearly enough to drag the whole experience down. It was a blast.

12/24: Do a Powerbomb! - Got this from Anthony as a birthday present. This is the previous series by the creative team currently doing the new Transformers comics I was gushing about a few entries ago. Even with the high bar set by those comics, Do a Powerbomb! exceeded my expectations. Holy shit. An absolutely entrancing fantasy wrestling miniseries full of dynamic, energetic action and tons of heart. These comics where a guy wrestles a giant talking orangutan almost made me cry. Twice. An instant favorite.

12/25: Adventure Time (rewatch) - We ended up finishing our rewatch of Adventure Time (the main series, anyway) on my 30th birthday, which feels appropriate. I already kinda knew this, but this rewatch has truly confirmed that Adventure Time is my favorite TV series of all time. The entire show is even better on a full series rewatch. In hindsight, even parts that annoyed me when they aired end up being important parts of the beautiful tapestry that is this series. The many low points of Finn’s adolescent love life are important stepping stones in his growth as a person, which leaves him in an extremely satisfying place by the end. Jake having kids didn’t get to be a huge status quo change because they grew up instantly, but then they did a bunch of fun episodes about Jake’s relationships with his adult children that deepened him as a character. And most of the big lore questions they kept teasing over the years (“Where’d the humans go?” “Who are Finn’s parents?” “When’s Finn gonna get a robot arm?” etc.) ended up getting satisfying and creative answers, because the show left itself the room to figure those things out later. This is a truly special, one-of-a-kind series, one that lasted nearly 300 episodes and yet still seems like it was over too soon. And yes, I did in fact cry during the final montage, like I knew I would. I will always cherish this show with all of my heart.

12/25: Olive the Other Reindeer (rewatch) - Haven’t seen this one since I was a kid! It was a favorite of mine back then, and while it might not be quite as funny as I remember it’s still very cute, with a 2D/3D hybrid art style that remains very unique and appealing. As an adult I can also appreciate the cast they got for this, with like half the cast of Futurama bolstered by guests like Michael Stipe from REM and The Sopranos’ Joe Pantoliano.

12/26: Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio - Anthony and I capped off our Christmas with the most jolly and festive stop motion movie of all! Jokes aside, man, what a beautiful movie. The animation is immaculate, and we really just don’t get children’s animated films like this anymore. Ones that overtly feature real world politics and religion and so many other dark themes in a way that doesn’t talk down to kids or sugarcoat things. This one hits hard. We need more movies like this.

12/31: Oppenheimer - This was an interesting one. Despite being three hours, the way that first hour jumps around in time makes it feel like Oppenheimer is constantly being propelled forward through life at a breakneck pace, swept up by the rising tide of nationalism in spite of his personal left wing politics, never really reflecting on what he’s doing until it’s too late. Then when he’s no longer useful to the empire, he’s chewed up and spat out, only to eventually be honored as a national hero as a symbolic gesture. It’s a compelling story. However, I’m a little torn on how certain aspects of history were framed. Does the abstraction of the bombings detract from the true weight of those events, in favor of sympathizing with the man who built the bomb? Or is it clever a way to show how the realities of the war were compartmentalized away by people who were complicit in its most heinous acts of violence? One minute a bunch of physicists are talking theory, thousands of miles away from the theaters of war, and the next they’ve killed 200,000 people. So which is it? Eh, probably somewhere in the middle, I guess. But I liked it overall.

12/31: Kirby’s Return to Dream Land Deluxe - I’ve been really surprised by how good this rerelease is. It kind of flew under the radar for me. I liked the original game, but at the time it also almost felt like the New Super Mario Bros. of Kirby. It was a straightforward throwback game where you went through a grass world, then a desert world, then a water world, etc., and also they added four player co-op. But returning to this one after the kinda mid Star Allies has made me appreciate just how solid RtDL is as a Kirby game. I really like the updated graphics, too - yes, even the new cel shaded outlines around the characters - even though I didn’t think it looked that great in screenshots. Also the two new copy abilities (Sand and Mecha) are fun, the minigame collection is shockingly fleshed out to the point that they could’ve sold it as a standalone eShop game, the collectible character masks are fun, and the new epilogue mode where you play as Magolor is one of the coolest bonus modes they’ve ever done. This is a top tier Kirby remake any fan of the series should check out.

Ongoing things I followed in 2023 that don't have a blurb:

Halo Infinite multiplayer

IDW Sonic the Hedgehog (main series + specials)

One Piece

Chainsaw Man

My Hero Academia (not caught up)

The JOJOlands (not caught up)

Things I started in 2023 that I still need to finish:

Freedom Planet 2

Hi-Fi Rush

Live A Live

Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order

Picross 3D Round 2

Rhythm Heaven MegaMix

Mega Man Battle Network 5: Team ProtoMan

Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart

Spark the Electric Jester 3

Sonic Dream Team

One Piece (Wano arc, anime)

Jujutsu Kaisen season 2 (I’ve already read the Shibuya arc already in the manga, though)

Astro Boy (2003 anime)

Futurama (original run rewatch)

One Piece (manga reread)

The Amazing Spider-Man (Lee/Ditko era)

Scott Pilgrim series (reread)

And finally... my favorites of 2023!!!

Overall favorite game: The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

Favorite indie game: Pseudoregalia

Games remastered in 2023 that are now among my all-time faves: Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective, We Love Katamari

Most pleasant surprise in gaming: The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog

Favorite film: Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

Favorite live action show: Barry

Favorite anime: Pluto

Favorite anime written by a Canadian guy and an American guy based on the Canadian guy's old graphic novel series: Scott PIlgrim Takes Off

Favorite live action adaptation of an anime that I still can't believe they didn't fuck up: One Piece

Favorite Western cartoon: Adventure Time: Fionna & Cake

Favorite older cartoon I only got around to watching in its entirety this year: The Venture Bros.

Favorite documentary: Double Fine PsychOdyssey

Favorite semi-improvised semi-scripted absurdist comedy/horror/tragedy Twitch livestream performance art thing: Half-Life Alyx but the Gnome is Self-Aware finale (wayneradiotv)

Favorite manga: Chainsaw Man

Favorite older manga that I only read this year: Berserk

Favorite Western comic book: Daniel Warren Johnson's Transformers

Favorite album: HELLMODE (Jeff Rosenstock)

And that's a wrap!!!!! Happy new year, everyone! Here's to me maybe actually reading a goddamn book this year

#bobby writes #i don't have a writing tag so i'm making one now to save this and other things

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neon-ufo · 1 year

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Luv's Monthly Makeover 2022

I wanted to show all 12 pieces of this project, and add a little paragraph about each of them, their themes (if applicable), and their inspirations.

The point of this project was to redesign my mascot Luv every month, trying out new art styles and techniques in the process. Luv changed every month, but still remained the same recognizable character throughout. The idea was to embrace the beauty and challenge of change, and grow with it.

💕January Luv is generally a very androgynous-looking character largely due to cuteness and fashion, but for this piece I wanted to give him a somewhat more masculine look, which created the little fire goatee. Technically this piece was drawn in December 2021 before I thought of this project (in February), but it hasn't been posted until January and it fit the bill so I counted it as the January piece.

I wanted this to be a more ‘serious’ piece, so there’s no exaggerated fashion or detail to it, aside from the realistic heart in place of the usual love heart on his chest. This is the oldest of the pieces, but I’m still very happy with how it looks!

The Japanese text is from the song Hello by Fire Bomber, saying; "We fear nothing, We go on along this path”. The vibe of the drawing was inspired by this song’s classic rock tune.

💕February This piece was largely just playing around with clothing textures and such, and the main idea was to present Luv's heart mask in a different way. Some looks had a much stronger thematic vision than others, and this is definitely one of the weaker ones. I don't have much to say about it tbh

The jacket is inspired by a Coach x Keith Haring collaboration jacket, and the mask is a "Lover" mask design by LikeADrugg.

💕March This was done when Ousama Ranking was airing and I fell in love with the demon's heart-shaped mouth, which I referenced here. Contrary to popular belief, Aku from Samurai Jack was not the inspiration for this.

There isn't much more to say about this one, I wanted him to look creepy and spindly. I had a blast with the rendering, very proud of how it turned out!

💕April I was really excited for the concept of this one, but it did not turn out how I wanted it to.

He was supposed to be essentially mask-less on this piece, with the visor of his hat casting a heart-shaped shadow on his face. I also wanted to push more in the fashion aspect in this one, the main inspiration being a pair of RoseCut pants & Vivienne Westwood's Love logo, which I used a few more times in my work after this.

💕May Ok I suddenly got struck by an extreme passion for punk fashion at this point, and I poured it heavily into this iteration. Another different play on the heart mask, this time it changed to heart-shaped glasses. Various spikes become a pretty recurring element from here on lmao. There's also the Westwood Love logo again.

A fun fact; this is actually largely a re-used design of a GothPunk Luv I tried drawing once, but scrapped because I didn't like how it was going! I loved the ideas behind that design and am really glad I got to bring it back here. <:

💕June This is a very simple one, as I was dealing with the loss of a beloved pet, and I simply didn't have the energy to draw anything bigger.

This actually turned out to be one of my favourite designs for Luv, as it's very simple but very fun, and easy to draw. It became my go-to design for doodles. Lyrics is from "It Gets Harder" by Good Luck

💕July Tried something very different with style here. I wanted the style and colours to be a little bit more ethereal in vibe, hence the very bright soft shapes and floating gold bits. The doll-like face also adds o the dreamyness, with the matte black eyes and no shine. I think that adding some thick lineart in the centre of the drawing makes the image a bit disorienting, which I quite like.

Main focal point is the golden Jeremy Scott + Adidas Wings sneaker, which was basically what this entire piece was built around.

💕 August This is another one of my favourite looks. I really love the outfit elements of it, as well as the colours, and I can definitely see myself drawing it again sometime, which is not something I can say for most other looks in this project!

Despite it being one of my favourite designs in this series, I don’t have much to say about the piece itself though. The shirt was inspired by a shirt worn by Donquixote Doflamingo on one of the One Piece manga covers.

💕September This piece has recently been chosen to partake in a group exhibition in the capital city of my country, which is quite a big deal for me!

Luv is sporting a very casual streetwear look with a graffiti can in hand. This was the first time I familiarized myself with gradient maps, experimenting with which helped me choose the final palette. The "Love & Peace" sign in the background is taken from a Trigun episode title. The decorations on the pants were inspired by Lirika Matoshi's S/S22 collection, and the shirt evokes several Junya Watanabe/Comme des Garçons shirts from the early 2000s.

💕October Spooky Luv for spooky month, I really love this piece. It's one of my favourite recent pieces!

Again a lineless piece like the month before, but I took a very different approach to shading, and honestly I expected it to be so much harder than it was. It was a blast to work on this one and I love the effect that pitch black shading has on a monochrome body. I did a lot of experimenting with the background and used gradient maps again to get a cool background effect. I was aiming to get some kinda old video game cover look with this. The text on top is my favourite quote from Dracula. The background is a photo from the Croatian coast that I took last summer.

💕November The aim of this one was to capture the nostalgic early 2010s anime & deviantART style. I looked to a few anime for reference, but I think in the end Lucky Star was the most helpful.

I tried to channel deviantART character designs I remember from that era, using typical design features I remember from it, such as demon wings, stripes, collars, off-the-shoulder oversized shirts, and checkered belts. The fashion inspiration here is largely the signature Chrome Hearts crosses, while the shoes were inspired by the fantastic toothed heels from the GCDS spring/summer '23 collection which I only now realized does not fit the Y2K theme I was going for with this one lmao

Either way, I'm very happy with this one, I think I achieved what I went out to do!

Oh yeah, and the text in the background is the entire lyrics of the album Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge by My Chemical Romance.

💕December Last piece of the challenge was almost entirely re-drawn, as I didn't like the first look of it. There isn't much specific inspiration for this one, but I wanted to make it vaguely connected to the December season.

As a reference to Christmas, there are elements of angels in the design, with a bright halo and tiny wings. The symbol I personally associate with new year is the peace sign☮️, because I remember that my dad used to give family friends a New Year's card with nothing but a peace sign in it. He stopped doing it recently, so I'm taking up that mantle instead.

The little sleepy Luv on the right side is taken from a different Monthly Makeover piece that I scrapped.

I'm not sure if it's clear, but the shape at the bottom says 2023.

Thank you

#oc #luv's monthly makeover #long post #luv

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gumnut-logic · 4 months

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We all love a piece of fanart. Art can communicate so much in just one glance.

But I would like to acknowledge that fanart can take aaaaages to create and the result can be glanced at and then it disappears into the depths of Tumblr if you don’t have the online storage to display it on Ao3.

So let’s take January and find all the art and reblog it like crazy. It doesn’t have to be yours, just make sure you are reblogging, not reposting, so the artist gets the credit they deserve. (More on reposting vs. reblogging below).

If you are an artist and you feel like using this month to tackle some works-in-progress or create some new art, go for it…I know I have a couple that need attention.

Tag with #FanartAM and #FanartAM2024

So, what art?

Pretty much anything!

Traditional

Digital

Photomanips

Gifs

Fanvids

Craft work

Fandom inspired works

Anything that has required visual creativity.

And when?

All of January 2024! Starting tomorrow, Adelaide time (so you might get some before the end of this year in other parts of the world :D )

This year, let's just post whatever you want whenever you want. No topic restrictions, just reblog that art and celebrate our artists!

But I don’t create visual art!

Doesn’t matter! You can dig in by reblogging other artists’ art and showing your support. Or if you really want to create something and you are a writer, I certainly won’t object if you get inspired and write fic – or you could write a fic based on someone’s art (though you might want to check with the artist first if it is okay).

Reblogging vs. Reposting

This is a distinction that you must be aware of before going in. One is good, the other bad. If the art is on Tumblr, and connected to the original artist’s account, hit that magic reblog button and show your admiration.

If the art is on another platform outside of Tumblr, put a link in your post – NEVER EVER copy that piece of art and ‘repost’ it to your blog. We are Thunderfam. We can click on a link and visit an artist’s account. We can reblog that link easily to share. The art belongs to the artist and by copying it and reusing it, you are disconnecting the credit and the control from the artist – this is considered stealing. It is the same with fic – always link, never copy and repost.

This is basic netiquette, please conduct yourselves like the wonderful Thunderfam I know you are.

The Point

But anyway, the point of this exercise is to bring all that wonderful Thunderbirds (or other fandoms if you prefer) eye candy to the surface so we can all gaze upon it in appreciation, drool all over the artwork and show our amazing artists exactly how wonderful they are.

Nutty

(we did a fantastic job the last three years, let’s do this again and celebrate our artists :D )

#thunderbirds are go #thunderbirds #thunderbirds fanart #thunderfam #fanartam #fanartam2024

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khae-writes · 1 year

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cozy [ sabo/reader ]

tags: modern au, sabo/female reader, fluff, romcom, confession, 3.1k words

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The day had been going abnormally slow. It was even worse when the temperature was so low that you had to dive under multiple layers of comforters just to feel all warm and cozy.

It was early into January, just a week after New Year’s and the season was as freezing as you’d expected it to be.

Classes were suspended for a good week extra as well due to reasons you were never told about and you simply assumed it was because the faculty themselves didn’t want to do any work at such a cold month and especially not have to tolerate noise in this peaceful weather. There was no snow outside but it was still pretty foggy outside. You directed your attention back to your TV, listening to the main protagonist of your favorite series talk.

Your eyes were drooping to a close and you couldn’t help shaking your head vigorously, getting off your comfortable position on the couch, kicking off the many covers and slouched all the way to the bathroom, splashing clean water onto your face which thankfully woke you up.

Nothing had been so out of place today and the cold was practically asking you to listen to it lulling you to sleep. You would’ve let yourself fall into slumber as quick as it beckoned you to, but you promised yourself from literally just yesterday that you were going to do as much productivity like maybe hone your skills in arts, read your textbooks in advance so you won’t be lagging behind everyone in your class, or maybe exercise or something — just literally anything that involved you getting a major benefit out of.

A knock on your door immediately puts you out of your dazed misery and you scrambled onto your feet to get the door. You don’t recall making plans with anyone today, did you? You shook the thought off and pulled the handle, pleasantly surprised to see the familiar face.

Sabo stands in front of you, his height as tall as it was the last time you’d seen him — he was dressed in a simple long-sleeved white shirt whereas the sleeves were rolled up to his elbows. He also had a navy-blue jacket wrapped around his figure to keep him from getting cold, some jeans to go with and of course, sneakers that he’d received as a gift from you a year ago. His wavy blonde locks parted mid on his forehead and the ragged scar that you, for some reason, loved was still visible, a small gentle and charming smile glued onto his face and his ocean-blue eyes that looked down at you with excitement.

You blushed slightly; he really was handsome.

“Hey,” he breathed out before raising a little plastic bag that was in his right gloved hand, “I brought snacks.”

You stepped aside, letting him in with a chuckle. “I can’t say no to free food now, can I?”

He shrugs, grinning. “Figured you’d say that.” He slips off his converse and places them neatly on the shoe rack, walking inside with an enamored expression the more he looked around. “You’ve really given this place a makeover.”

You rolled your eyes, a smile unable to drop from your face. “I had a lot of free time since you moved out.”

“You became more responsible as soon as I left?? Man, I must’ve been detrimental to your growth as a person!” He joked, receiving a sardonic laugh from you.

“Ha ha,” you shake your head, chuckling, “well, make yourself at home. The furniture in the kitchen’s still the same so have fun rummaging around there. Luffy and the others are always busy, so I could never get the chance to ask them to help me move some of the heavy load around.”

Sabo hums, making his way over to the kitchen counter and take two clean bowls out of glass and two spoons. “So, what have you been doing?”

“Shouldn’t that be my question for you?” You rose a brow.

“Hey, we haven’t had contact in a while—I think the question goes for both of us.” He smiled at you, dividing half of the tub into one bowl and then the rest in the other.

You smiled back, “I guess so.” You made yourself comfortable on the couch, wrapping yourself into a burrito once more with your many layers for blankets. “Well, to answer your question, I haven’t really been doing anything. I mean, same old, same old—I wake up, take a bath, eat breakfast, go to school, study, bla bla bla.”

Sabo snorted at your bland description. “Really now? No dating, new roommates or crazy frat parties or anything?”

You pretended to think, humming in thought before giving him a closed-eye grin, laughing. “If you count Luffy and his friends coming by once in a while to eat, then I’d say that’s pretty crazy.”

“Booooo! That doesn’t count!” Sabo heckled, giving you a thumbs down at how boring it’s been.

Sabo was your previous roommate and your closest friend. Although he was a year higher than you and had graduated already a year ago, you two remained connected. He had moved out of Gol City and off to Baltigo to pursue his own dreams of being a lawyer. And you believed he was going to be the best there was out there.

You giggled, “Alright, alright, well, do tell the host why a handsome young man decides to suddenly pop by for some snacks? Mind letting me know?”

This time, it was Sabo that pretended to think before shooting you a fake distressed expression. “I’m sorry but I do mind.” You both just laughed, the sound of you two’s laughter echoing across the dormitory room you used to share with him. “Okay, for real, I guess I just felt like seeing you?” He smiles softly, finally walking over to you and joining your spot on the couch.

He pushes you slightly, gently moving you over to give space for him to sit on before handing you a small bowl of vanilla ice cream. You narrowed your eyes at the cold treat, giving him an unamused expression. “Ice cream at this season? You’re kidding.” You deadpanned, knowing that this was exactly one of his dorky habits.

Sabo simply shrugs, “I kid you not. Take it before it melts into a gooey puddle.” You grumbled under your breath and took it anyway, shivering some more when you felt the cold treat on your tongue.

“Anyway,” you cleared your throat, moving to the far end of the sofa, a teasing grin on your face, “’you felt like seeing me’? That’s so lame! Did you lose a bet or something? Maybe Ace dared you to do this!”

Sabo only smiled. “No, I just,” he turns away slightly red at what he was about to say next, “… I just really missed you.”

You went quiet at his confession, feeling your heart pick up its pace. There was no denying that you’d definitely developed a crush over this gorgeous young man — he was literally every girl’s dream guy, after all! And you’d been so lucky to have been roommates with him for three years.

“W-Well, that’s sweet of you.” You composed yourself, averting your eyes from his awkward figure and telling yourself that he’s just a friend. He meant that platonically, nothing else.

Sabo feigned a hurt look, “What? You didn’t miss me back or something?”

You whipped your head to face him once more, cheeks puffing indignantly. “That’s not it!”

“Do tell me then.” he challenges you, not expecting you to turn red from embarrassment and cupping your cheeks. Sabo felt himself swell in pride at being the reason for your flushed expression — just a bit.

“I-I’m just embarrassed, alright? I did miss you and I still do.” You huffed, glaring at him. “Being in your company feels nice, okay? It feels better having a friend around than being here alone.”

The blonde felt his smirk disappear, curving into a genuine small smile as he scoots nearer to you. “Aww,” he coos, “you’re still such a baby!”

You glare at him, red from embarrassment, “No! I’m not a baby!”

“Sure you are!” He teases.

“Noooo!” You pathetically whined, punching his shoulder with your left fist lightly. “If anyone here’s a baby, it’s you! Seriously? Ice cream for a snack?”

Sabo, this time, felt a fire twinkle in his chest as his eyes lit up at the start of this stupid and pointless roleplay. “Ice cream is good!” He defended, “Not only is it cold and perfect for relieving stress but also sweet and helps cool off the brain!”

You snorted, going along with the skit you two were playing. “We all know the big boys have chips and fries for snacks now! Mr. Sabo, I’m so sorry to tell you that you are cancelled!” You laughed, chortling at his defeated expression.

“N-No way! It can’t be!” He faked a gasp. “But madame (Y/n), you also ate ice cream when you were younger, didn’t you!? This is such a scandal! Charging against a childhood treat? You know this goes against the law!” He dramatically weeps.

You pull up a believable shocked face, “No! You must’ve heard me wrong! A-As I do enjoy ice cream, its gloriousness can’t ever match up to—”

“And there we have it! The debate has ended!” Sabo hollers, raising his arms upwards and pointing accusingly at you. “You, (L/n) (Y/n), are a perpetrator and the mastermind of this heated debate! How dare you frame someone else, an ally of yours, nonetheless!”

“No! Believe me, Mr. Sabo, it is I who has been framed!”

“We’ll take it to court, madame!”

After that confusing and pointless act you two just pulled, you fell back and started bursting into laughter. You both had silly grins on your faces and you really missed his company. It was like he never left at all, like he had been there for a year more.

After that, you two just resorted to talking, eating your cold treats and sharing stories of how life had been treating one another. It was peaceful and you wanted nothing to interrupt this moment of peace. It felt so serene and nice, it felt right and you knew Sabo was enjoying this too — time with you.

It was goofy moments like these with your blonde companion that made university so much more worthwhile; tolerable. It was with him that you appreciated free time more and learned to balance out studying and habitual activities for yourself. It was with him that you became wiser and more forgiving; that you began to acknowledge others and start working with a goal in mind. It was with him that you started to become more passionate — you really were grateful for Sabo.

Your laughter had died down into little giggles, pulling up the blankets and your knees up to your chest, resting your upper limbs on your legs as you looked at the blonde with a calm and relaxed face.

You observed his features — down from every strand of hair, to the slight pink of his lips. He really was handsome. Blonde, blue eyes, finely dressed no matter what, personality was an eleven out of ten — he was… amazing.

Without thinking straight, you’d crawled over next to him, dazed. “Sabo,” you called for his name softly, the smile on your face never disappearing.

The blonde turned to you, his boisterous laughing dying down as well as he noticed how serious you looked. He gulped, inaudible. “Yeah?”

You feel your heart beat so fast and so loud, you felt like it was going to jump out of your chest. But, it was now or never. You either sit in regret for the rest of your life or you jump at the opportunity.

And like Ace always said, “Live a life with no regrets.” This was it.

“I think I’m in love with you.”

You hear his breath hitch and his grip on the ice cream bowl and the spoon paired with it had tightened. You had different scenarios playing out in your head like a broken record, reminding you what sort of imagery you were expecting after that sudden confession.

You expected him to walk out, leave you rejected and never contact you again.

He would return your feelings.

He would reject you politely, telling you that he sees you only just a friend.

Laugh it off, tell you to stop joking around.

Good lord, you hoped it wasn’t the last one.

You were fine being friend-zoned or being walked out on but being told that you were joking around with your feelings and being made fun of for saying such things — it pissed you off a lot.

Your blood suddenly turned cold, seeing his lips twitch into a smile before slowly bursting into laughter. Your own lips twitched feverishly at his reaction; was he making fun of you? No, that wasn’t it. There was a pinkish tint to his face that you immediately recognized was a blush, though if it were someone else (Ace, for example), you might’ve dismissed it as them genuinely making fun of you because they were just that dense.

But you knew Sabo wasn’t oblivious, unlike his brothers.

You laughed with him, albeit strained and forced. “W-What’s so funny?” You feel your arms crumble — your only support for keeping your body up hovering over his, they were slowly about to break. “I’m serious.” You struggled to keep a straight face, unable to show the hurt you were feeling.

“I-I know, I can see that—i-it’s just—!” He laughed again, inhaling and exhaling to calm himself down, trying to get back his voice and looking at you with a gentler look.

“Are you good now?” You couldn’t help the sass in your tone of voice, looking away from him out of spite.

“Yeah, I’m good.” Sabo chuckles.

“… if you’re just going to laugh then—”

You were cut off at the new weight slithering around your waist, and all strength you’d kept in your arms had fallen down, your body meeting Sabo’s as he wrapped his lean arms around your figure. Your bowls of ice cream had been settled onto the coffee table in front of the couch, your body flushed against his comfortably.

“I was laughing because it felt unreal.” Your brows furrowed in confusion, your nose scrunching bemusedly. “It’s pretty hard to believe the girl I’d also come to grow feelings for returning my affections.” He finishes, smiling awkwardly but also happily.

In a matter of seconds, you felt your face burn from embarrassment. “O-Oh,” you muttered out, “that’s all?”

His arms were still tightly wound around you, embracing you and delicately snuggling his nose by the crook of your neck. You feel him smile on your skin, his breath fanning over you as he releases a deep chuckle. “We haven’t seen each other in a whole year—I’m shocked.”

“You’re a very hard person to forget and let go of, Sabo.” You mumbled, bashful.

“Ahh, you’re really cute…” He couldn’t help the goofy grin on his face as he sees your flustered expression. He pulls you closer to him, his body emanating enough body warmth for both you and him — a perfect temperature for this cold. “You… you’re in love with me—that’s what you said, right?” You feel his heart pulsate under your palms, his hold on you tightening slightly, but making sure not to crush you with his strength.

You nodded timidly, shy under his caring gaze.

“… I think I’m in love with you too.” He exhales, before his eyes met yours. Those blue pools of his for eyes that bore into yours, loving and relieved, his eyes casting just slightly downwards to your lovely inviting lips.

And slowly, he leaned in. Your lips brushing against his just for a still moment; you feel your heart race rapidly. This was the moment you’d been waiting for, wasn’t it? It was a delicate experience, a memorable one, an unforgettable one and something you wanted to cherish until your very last breath.

“May I?” His voice pulls you back to reality and you could only respond ‘yes’.

In an instant, his lips met yours — it was soft and sweet, he felt warm on your own and you felt your body burning like crazy from the intimate physical affection. You had never kissed anyone before, but you were damn glad it was Sabo that turned out to be your first — and he was a damn good kisser too.

A few seconds had passed and you two pulled away before leaning in again.

A kiss. Then another. Then again. And another.

The little pecks in-between catching breaths were your remedy, the flush on your cheeks were present as you two let out tiny breathy giggles like a bunch of high-school students in love which may or may not be far from the truth.

Your hands that had lost its strength to even move earlier were caressing his cheeks softly, your right thumb massaging his faded scar. You knew how insecure he could get over it, but he didn’t pull away at your touch. You felt yourself soar at the feeling of being trusted by this young man. His hands, on the other hand, were around your waist and the other was just resting on your back. You shuddered at the feeling of someone’s else’s hands on your waist at first, but you instantly relaxed. The more he rubbed smooth circles around the small of your back, the easier you felt comforted.

You looked at him, silent and still.

He looked so ethereal — unbelievably handsome, unrealistically sweet; he was every woman’s dream guy yet you were the lucky girl he’d chosen to be with. Whether you two spend an eternity as lovers or not, you were all snuggled up on his chest, adoring the warmth he provided.

He awkwardly asks in-between another kiss. “Wait, does this make you my girlfriend?

“Well, you never asked…” You grinned at him, seeing his face bloom red at the realization.

“Oh fuck, you’re right—!” He cursed, worried. “(Y/n)—”

You cut him off, smirking. “Sabo, be my boyfriend?”

The blonde gaped at you in horror. “Hey! You can’t just ask me out! The guy’s supposed to make the first move!”

You shrugged, your hands now wrapped around his neck, giving him one long kiss yet again — and although he was just complaining a few seconds ago, he’d easily let himself kiss you back with just as much passion, if not more.

Sabo breathed heavily, looking at you with a dazed mien. “Then I’ll have to reject your confession, princess.” He smirks as he kisses you again. “Be mine?”

You felt yourself shiver in pleasure at his use of nicknames, not really all that mad that he turned the tables on you and nodded at his request

The rest of the day may have went by slow but at least it was cozy in his arms.

#modern au #one piece x reader #one piece/reader #sabo x reader #sabo/reader #one piece sabo x reader #one piece sabo/reader #fanfiction #fanfic #one-shot #romcom #fluff #confession scene

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chierafied · 4 months

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December Drabbles Day 19 - The Mistletoe Mix-Up

Read on AO3.

Banner fan art by the amazing @sayuri-liu

For @mythicamagic, the superbly talented sweetheart. Thank you for sharing your gifts with the fandom and all your fantastic support over the years. Love you! 😘💕

For 12 Days of Promptmas, Day 6: Mistletoe

Day 19 - The Mistletoe Mix-Up

“I heard Shippou and Inuyasha discuss a wonderful custom yesterday,” the monk said.

“Oh? And what kind of a custom is that?” his wife asked, sounding sceptical.

“It is part of the winter celebrations from Lady Kagome’s time. It’s called a mistletoe.”

“That’s an odd name.”

“It’s the name of the plant used in this custom.”

“A plant? How is it used?”

“A mistletoe is an invitation to exchange a kiss.”

A soft laugh followed, as well as a light smack.

“As if you don’t already get to exchange all the kisses you want,” the slayer grumbled, affection evident in the tone of her voice.

As it sounded like some kissing might be about to happen in the immediate future, the silent observer of the conversation turned to leave.

It was just as well. He had a custom to honour.

Kagome stepped out from her hut, pulling her overcoat tighter around herself to keep from the cold, and almost walked right into the daiyoukai standing before her door.

“Sesshoumaru!” Kagome clutched at her chest. “Good morning. I didn’t know you were coming to Edo today.”

“I had an important errand to see to,” he intoned, his hooded eyes boring into her.

Kagome tried not to squirm under his intent gaze. “Uhh, really?”

“Indeed.”

Then he held out his hands. “Here.”

Kagome stared at the clump of sorry-looking green plants on Sesshoumaru’s palm. There seemed to be some kind of fern in there. And mugwort. She’d been learning a lot about plants since she’d returned to live in the Feudal era. But she had no idea why Sesshoumaru would be presenting her with any. Was this some weird youkai thing she hadn’t heard of? Or was he trying to be helpful after seeing her many trips to gather herbs for cooking or medicine?

In any case, he definitely seemed to be expecting some kind of a response from her.

Kagome plucked the sad little clump from him and offered Sesshoumaru an uncertain smile. “Thank you?”

He stared at her. Kagome stared back, thoroughly confused. Then, he growled and left Kagome blinking at his retreating back.

The mistletoe custom had gripped Sesshoumaru’s interest. He’d thought to finally have found a way to communicate with the miko in a way she’d understand and make his intentions clear. He’d been harbouring said intentions for a long while now, but had found no fitting occasion to act on them. After all, he had never had a reason to court anyone — even in the manner of youkai that he was familiar with. He had even less experience in courting a human and had no examples to model his behaviour after.

He’d truly believed the mistletoe to be the solution to his dilemma, but now it was clear that in his excitement he had overlooked one crucial flaw: he did not know what a mistletoe was . Or where to find one. He doubted the monk would know, either, and he was certain that his foolish half-brother would prove to be entirely unhelpful.

Still, despite this difficulty, Sesshoumaru did not falter. He was patient and persistent and fully committed to this search for the mistletoe. Even if he had to scour all of Japan, he would find the right plant. Eventually.

Kagome stomped over to where her friends had gathered by Kaede’s hut and plopped down with a groan.

“Did you get another visit?” Sango asked.

“Yes! I did. Today I got plum blossoms. It’s not even January yet, where the hell did he find plum blossoms?”

Kagome tucked the delicate cutting out of her sleeve and showed it to her friends.

“Ooh, it’s so pretty!” Rin sighed.

“I wouldn’t mind getting some flowers every now and then,” Sango said, slanting a glance at her husband.

“It’s the fifth time this week. I have no idea what’s happening and my brain hurts. Is this some obscure youkai thing?”

“It’s not something I’ve ever heard of,” Miroku said.

“Me either,” Shippou chimed in.

“Then why does he keep bringing me plants?” Kagome despaired.

“Maybe he wants kisses,” Shippou suggested.

A stunned silence settled over the group.

“ What ?” Kagome choked out.

“You know, like with mistletoe.”

Kagome gave Shippou a long look, even as Rin giggled. “How do you know about mistletoe?”

“Inuyasha told me.”

“How does Inuyasha know — Never mind.” Kagome shook her head, more confused than ever. “I don’t think that’s it, where would Sesshoumaru have learned about mistletoe, anyway?”

The shock was dissipating now, giving way to laughter.

Miroku was fully chuckling. “Can you imagine Sesshoumaru trying to find mistletoe to bring to Lady Kagome?”

“And how disappointed he must feel when he gets no kisses in return.” Sango laughed.

“Guys, it’s not funny,” Kagome tried to interject. But the laughter was contagious, and a few stray giggles bubbled in her own throat. Maybe it was a little funny. But only because the idea was so stupefyingly impossible.

Two days later, there was a knock on the door of Kagome’s hut. She shook her head even as she rose to go answer it. She felt the prickling of youki along her skin, even if the precise hour of the visit hadn’t been clue enough.

She opened her door and found Sesshoumaru at her doorstep.

“Good morning,” he wished her in an even tone. Then, he proffered a plant, as if bestowing her some precious gift.

Kagome stared at the sprig in his clawed hands. Unbidden, the echo of Shippou’s words came to her. She plucked the plant he was giving her, blushing as her fingers brushed his callused palm.

Kagome looked up from under her lashes and found Sesshoumaru’s usual hooded gaze on her, as intent as it was expectant.

And then another thought followed the memory of Shippou’s suggestion. What if... ?

Kagome bit her lip. Sesshoumaru’s golden eyes sharpened.

Nerves fluttering in the pit of Kagome’s stomach, she rose on the tip of her toes and gave Sesshoumaru a shy kiss.

A growl rumbling in his chest, his arms immediately came around her, clamping her to him in a possessive grip. His lips slanted against hers, turning what had been soft and hesitant into a smouldering declaration.

A mystery solved at last.

#sesskag #sesskag fic #sesskag fanfiction #sesskag december drabbles #12 days of promptmas sk #chie writes #fic: sk

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stellevatum · 16 days

Text

Please at least give it a read! Liking this post also means it’s more likely I will follow back, as I know you have RAU’d.

Updated 04/24/2024

ABOUT:

Kar/Karmun/Karthonic either-or. If you'd rather separate mun/muse you can use my middle name, Asher to refer to me.

They/Them is cool.

From New York, so the timezone is EST.

Birthday’s January 1990, so 30+

Spoonie with AuDHD

Artist, and educator, so I can get busy. I commute, so I'm on the train for a few hours a day,

You can reach me on here or on discord. Just ask.

Personal blog @karthonic.

On mobile most of the time.

I left the Tumblr RPC 4 years ago so forgive me as I catch up with the new etiquette, etc.

GENERAL:

Above all else: Be Excellent to each other and party on, dudes!

This sounds redundant to post this but: If you have no intention of RPing with me don’t follow. Lurking for a bit before reaching out is fine, but I would like genuinely interested folks. Optional, but I've made an interest checker to help organize things.

This incarnation Kar is for SCIENCE FICTION/SPACE OPERA like verse. Her Contemporary/Urban Fantasy/Paranorma;/Supernatural self can be found at @obscurushydrae

While she's Star Wars Based, don’t sweat it if you don’t know the other stuff. If your fandom/verse has a way in, I can finagle her into all sorts of place (she's literally an cosmic horror at heart).

That ‘selective’ part comes into play. I have every right to not follow someone, decline a roleplay, just as you do. Just be polite and respectful.

Crossover/AU/Multiverse/Self Insert friendly. Not your thing, then feel free to not follow.

There will be casual mentions of recreational drug use, more often than not mentions of alcohol than drugs, but will be tagged upon request. Other possible triggers are her fatalistic humor.

This is not a content resource blog. If you’re here for the pretty pictures, aesthetics, or memes, this is not the blog for you.

Communication is key. My muse might be intimidating, but I'm not-- just very busy and on mobile more often than not. Don’t know something, or want me to elaborate: ask! I forgot a reply or not feeling a thing anymore, lemme know. I'm good.

Godmoding is discouraged but I’m not going to stop it. I will likely try to out ridiculous you Bugs Bunny style. Even though she can’t die, you’re free to try and kill her, but let me know first (either way she’s gonna be pissed FYI).

Most art is mine but will be credited. If I reblog any art reposted without the original creator’s permission, let me know. I’ll remove it.

IN CHARACTER:

Compatible Fandoms (ie I am Familiar with): Star Wars, Mass Effect, Borderlands, Alien/Predator, Dune, The Outer Worlds, Subnautica, No Man's Sky, Galaktikon, RaM, H2G2, and more!

Kar for the most part, is literally the Force. In a body. Raised by mortals, so she thought she was. And spent most of her life just vaguely gesturing and just going with "humanoid." Force sensitive characters might be able to sense her, but she can mask it.

As for appearance, unless you’re really looking you might notice the fangs. And for the most part, assume she’s wearing her signature sunglasses covering her eyes since those rarely are taken off in public.

While not usually brought up, but Kar has attempted to end her life and self-harmed. Nowadays it’s usually just masked with fatalistic humor, recreational drug use, and lots of drinking.

SHIPPING:

Shipping is welcomed and willing to discuss the possibility, but I leave the rest to chemistry and just how we as writers write. Kar is into male muses, and will be polite about turning other people down, unless one doesn’t take the hint.

That being said, don’t ask to ship with me and just…drop off. I believe in mutual enthusiasm. If you're no longer interested, just communicate.

This blog is multiship, meaning each relationship is treated as its own separate place in the multiverse unless discussed and agreed upon.

Kar can be polifidelitous. She’s okay with having multiple partners and those partners having partners if your character is cool with it. But she can be selectively monogamous in your little bubble.

NSFW may be on here, or I might do it over discord. I'm playing it by vibes. As I don't really have any established romantic stuff since rebooting, I can't say with any certainty.

FOLLOWING/UNFOLLOWING:

Please don’t follow/interact if you’re under 21. If I follow anyone underage, it’s because I wasn’t able to access any about/ooc information, please don’t take it personally if I unfollow!

If I don’t follow you and you follow me, please just hit me up before doing something. Just because I don’t follow means I’m not interested, I just don’t think our characters mesh with the information given. If we chat about it, who knows!

If I follow you or like a post but not follow, it's likely because I want to check out your rules but can't find a mobile friendly/need time to look through things. If you follow back, I'll message as I don't want to overstep.

I don’t usually greet/interact with personal blogs, so side blogs off personals give me a heads up. Otherwise, I might miss you.

ASKS:

Askbox will only be open for IC interactions, save for when the meme specifies Mun. IMs are for OOC communication. Anon feature is for sideblogs, multimuses to interact ICly with me. Any Anon messages good or bad directed to the Mun (outside of memes) will be ignored.

No Magic Anons, please!

There’s no need to wait to send me a meme if you’ve followed me for 5 minutes or 5 months, send the thing.

Reblog Karma is going to be enforced on this blog. That is, if you reblog an ask meme off me, please send me one. Otherwise, reblog the meme from @karref

THREADS:

Jump on any open post, there’s no need to ask permission, they’re there for that reason!

I will be keeping my posts simple! I don't have the time/energy to make formatted posts, and I like to keep things as accessible as possible. I do try to keep track of the heavily plotted stuff, but the casual things might drop off. Feel free to remind me if it's been a bit!

Communicate! If you’re having trouble writing a reply, talk to me! If you don’t like or not feeling a thread, say so and drop the thread. That also doesn’t mean things are done for good. Come to me if you want to skip/do something else.

If you’d rather we move things to discord, just ask! I’ll set up a server just for us!

TAGGING/ HARD LIMITS:

Blood, Gore, Body Horror, Drugs, etc, will be tagged with (name); for instance drugs; . Special Tags on request.

Posts will be tagged upon request, just let me know!

If you read and understand this, I would appreciate if you'd leave a like the post, that way I know you have without forcing a password.

But if you'd like to message me, here's a DM icebreaker: What's your favorite extinct animal? (If you're lucky I may have cool fact about it.)

HOPE TO WRITE WITH YOU SOON! :D

#nav;

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genshinresource · 2 years

Text

All resources in the AIO links were uploaded before Jan 13, 2024. THIS BLOG WILL NO LONGER RECEIVE UPDATES | NOTICE POST.

AIO link for Assets | Illustrations | Magazines & Manga

Please read the warnings before you decide to follow or interact with this blog.

It’s been a while since I last updated the navigation post, and since I’ve made a few minor adjustments in all of this blog’s current pages, I thought I should make a new easier-to-read one now. This post might be long so I’ll keep the main content under break.

IMPORTANT WARNINGS / BYF/BYI

First things first: I know there are a lot of complaints regarding miHoYo/HoYoverse’s character design and representation etc. etc. but tbh I don’t care and don’t want to give any duck about it either. I’m cool with people’s headcanons but I don’t want to see comments about real life social issues or politic shit in the reblogs, therefore I WILL BLOCK THOSE WHO DO SO IMMEDIATELY if I ever see any. If someone’s brain lacks the ability to separate fiction from reality and chooses to vent their bs here, I have all the rights to boot them out. Feel free to unfollow and block me if you don’t like how it sounds, take your complaints to miHoYo/HoYoverse/COGNOSPHERE directly, don’t do it here, thank you.

Secondly, this blog contains UNMARKED SPOILER, is NOT spoiler-free and will never be spoiler-free. However, I will never post leaks or any content related to leaks. All contents you see here were officially released by miHoYo/HoYoverse/COGNOSPHERE and/or their respective owners in-game and/or publicly by the time they are posted. If you’re not comfortable seeing any content(s) here, please consider blocking/muting/filtering respective tag(s).

BLOG NAVIGATION

» Tags Page «

This page is the main masterlist of this blog. All tags assigned in this blog are grouped into categories and there’s a filter at the top of the page if when you want to see specific groups of tags. Read this post if you want to save image-type media in the largest size possible.

» Character Tags Page «

Nothing much to introduce here. There’s a filter box to the right where you can filter characters by their Vision elements, nations and sexes. Click on a character’s avatar to go to their tagged posts.

» Emotes Page «

This page is the emote masterlist. All Genshin emotes in this blog will be added here soon after they’re posted in the newest -> oldest order.

» Namecards Page «

A gallery of all in-game namecards. Each namecard has its name shown when you hover your mouse over it. If you want to get the full-size image of any card, right-click on it and select “Open image in new tab” or just “Save image as”.

» Main Birthday Artworks/Birthday Shorts Gallery «

A gallery for main birthday artworks/birthday shorts. You can filter them by year, characters’ nations and sexes using the filter box on the right side. Switch between main birthday art and main birthday shorts by clicking the dots under each artwork. More info is in the description box.

» Birthday Shorts (Twins Version) Gallery «

Nothing much to introduce here, it’s pretty much the same as the main birthday art gallery above but it’s for the twins version birthday shorts only.

» Genius Invokation TCG Card Gallery «

There are two versions of the TCG card gallery: Static and Dynamic. These pages use the same filter function that has been used in this blog’s other media pages so I believe everyone won’t have any issues navigating through them. Download instruction is inside the top right description box.

That’s all for now. I recommend bookmarking those pages so you can find your favorite stuff faster. Comments are permanently disabled here so these pages will make your simping life so much easier.

Last updated: January 24th, 2024

#notice board

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thislovintime · 10 months

Photo

London, January 1968.

“[Karen] Harvey was living in the same apartment building as Tork, at 35 Bedford St., and they cemented a friendship that had started earlier. ‘We’re still very, very good friends,’ she said. Through a girlfriend at one of the art galleries, Harvey also go to know David Crosby. He and Tork were responsible for getting Harvey to move West. 'He [Crosby] fell in love with my girlfriend and took her back to California. Then Peter got this Monkees thing and moved there. Everybody was trying to get me to come to California, and so I eventually went,’ Harvey says. 'She came because I asked her to,’ Tork confirmed during a phone call from California. 'I can’t actually say she was my girlfriend. She was my roommate. She came back and forth for a while. I’m an old fan of hers from way, way back. Karen is a wonderful singer.’ Although she eventually got her own apartment, Harvey spent much of her time at Tork’s house, under the famous 'Hollywood’ sign. 'I was handling a lot of affairs of the house because he [Tork] was working like a slave,’ Harvey said. 'TV work is no picnic.’ With the increasing amount of money and fame through the Monkees’ TV show, Tork moved to a bigger house (once owned by actor Wally Cox) in Studio City. They also needed more room because Tork, Harvey and Robert Hammer, who directed the horror film 'Don’t Answer the Phone,’ had formed a film company called Breakthrough-Influence, whose work included videos for Crosby, Stills and Nash, and Steve Miller." - The News Journal, July 16, 1989 (x)

“I don’t know that it [fame] affected my ability to have friendships. Basically I don’t think I knew how to be or have a friend beforehand, and I don’t think I learned while I was in that operation [The Monkees]. I mean, I had some good buddies, you know, but that wasn’t the same thing, I didn’t really understand. There was only one person in my life that I could turn to when I was hurting who happened somehow to know what it was, what it took to stop me hurting, and that was a woman named Karen Harvey, who later joined me on the West Coast. And I thought, well, here’s a friend come to join me and this will be a real friend. And we were pretty good friends, I guess, but there wasn’t any that, you know, that — I didn’t know what a friend did in a sense of how, on a day-to-day basis, do you maintain your friendships, do you go out of your way to make sure that things are nice and right and, you know, the kind of work that a friendship takes. You don’t just have a friendship without work. And I didn’t know that. And I’m not so sure I know it now.” - Peter Tork, NPR, June 3, 1983

“The producers at one point for some reason decided to take us to Paris, right before we were doing a short tour of Britain — I think one of them had a girlfriend in France, I don’t know. And they took some cameras and they shot us being goofy on the streets of Paris, and that was a lot of fun. And then at the end of the shooting day, ‘Okay, you’re done, go home, go to your rooms, to your hotel room.’ Luxurious hotel room in Paris, who could wish for anything more? Well, I was lonely as hell. So there’s more things than luxurious. So I wrote a couple of songs, just out of, you know, loneliness. One of them will hopefully be forever confined to the dustbin of history. The other one [’Lady’s Baby’] was about the lady that I was living with at the time, and her son. That’s them, that’s my darling Karen, with whom I am still very good friends all these years later.” - Peter Tork during his My Life In The Monkees & So Much More tour, 2013 (x)

#Peter Tork #Karen Harvey #Justin Hammer #Tork quotes #Tork songs #Lady's Baby #1960s #1983 #60s Tork #80s Tork #1989 #long read #<3 #The Monkees #Monkees #can you queue it

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sumire-no-nikki · 3 months

Text

Hardy Days

January is a month that takes some time to break into like brand new shoes. It always feels longer than it is. It has been a while since I’ve been online properly though for the best reasons. My days have been full. My desk succumbs to entropy just as soon as I’ve tidied it up, my planner is abundant with marks, overflowing with tasks in constant flux. But that just means my hours are well consumed. My days feel very lived in and I’m endlessly thankful for that.

It hasn’t been all work though! I managed to read 4 books so far this month, two of which I would like to mention here. The first book I read is Before We Say Goodbye, which is the fourth book in the Before the Coffee Gets Cold Series by Toshikazu Kawaguchi. I think the fourth one is my favorite so far, if not a close second to the first book. This one made me cry so hard it felt like a cardio exercise haha. The fifth book hasn’t been translated yet and I’m too impatient so I went ahead and started it in Japanese. I was just telling a pal how much comfier it is in the original language. I think I will reread the previous books in Japanese as well once I can get ahold of it from Kinokuniya. I’m so excited!

Another book I finished recently is Voices of the Dead by Ambrose Parry. It’s a historical fiction medical/crime novel set in Victorian Edinburgh. It also has hints of angsty romance between the two main characters, and if you know me at all, you know angst is my fuel, my reason for being lmao. But on top of the already very attractive premise, I must say the pervasive question of “am I what I come from or am I what I can become” throughout all the books is such a robust subject that I can never get enough of. I really enjoyed it! Ah, but now I’ve got to wait for the next book (if there is one). I’m pretty hopeful because the ending was set up for a continuation for sure, but you never know. Also, can I just complain about something extremely petty? Why is the fourth book’s spine different from the rest of the series? It’s from the same publisher, the same font is used. But why is the symbol not the same size as the other volumes’ symbols? WHY. Why would they make it not line up properly like that? I’m losing my mind!!

Now, I’m not one for redecorating just because it’s a new year, but I did change up my vinyl corner by switching out the old art with two posters in matching red—one from a Mitski concert way back in 2017, and one poster of Billie Marten’s 2023 album. Two very different eras of my life coming together. Quite poetic now that I think about it.

While on the subject of music, I’ve had Marika Hackman’s new album “Big Sigh” on repeat since it came out. Oh my god it’s so so good. I remember thinking when I first heard it, god, this is like having my guts pulled out of me. The lyrics are so raw I felt like my chest was going to cave in. Even the music conveys such angst and self-sabotage. The one song that struck me the most is the penultimate song called “Please Don’t Be So Kind.” That one really spoke to me. I love it so much I figured out the guitar chords by ear because I badly wanted to play it. (It’s just three chords in slightly different arrangements throughout the song: C/G-D/A-Em7/B. Half-step up tuning or more conveniently with capo on the 1st fret). I haven’t stopped thinking about the album and I don’t think I will ever stop doing so. I feel that my life is made richer by having listened to this body of work. Even though it’s rather depressing, I actually relish that about it. I think I’m at an age now where I can clearly see my emotion outside my body. It’s a place I can visit as I please. I can work through my feelings and then when I’ve done my best with it, I can leave it be. I can experience things as deeply as I want to while having the confidence that I won’t lose myself in it. It’s a very freeing sense of clarity.

Also, this is from a while back now but I got the newest volume of the coffee magazine I’m subscribed to and the coffee sampler they sent for the quarter is stellar. It tasted of peach and orange, it was insane. The sampler had enough for only two espresso double shots but it made such an impact I just have to note it down here. The roaster, A Matter of Concrete, is based in Rotterdam. I might have to pop in there to try more of their coffee one of these days. Oh, but this reminds me that my grinders are due for a cleaning. Right, I’ll have to do that sometime tomorrow. And I’m not looking forward to it because I’m always anxious I’ll fuck up the burrs or put the grinders back all wrong. Also, looking at this photo, I have to polish my espresso machine, don’t I? Oops.

What else have I been up to? I’ve recently reconnected with my best friend from my undergraduate days and it has been such a blessing. We didn’t have a fight or anything. We just drifted apart because I moved away for my MA and they went back home for a job offer. But they reached out to let me know they’ll be moving to Europe to start a second degree and a career change!! Which means we will be able to see each other again!! Oh, I’m looking forward to that so much I’m counting the days. I have such fond memories of them I can’t wait to bear hug the hell out of them haha.

I also finally decided to finish a writing project I have left alone to stew in its own unfinished mess for far too long lol. I forced myself to churn as much words as I could, and then the arduous task of negotiating what to keep, what to expand and what to cut came soon after. I’ve since finished it and I’m relieved to have concluded that story. I’m quite satisfied with the arc. It felt like a good study of how I write, what I want from a story and how I can achieve it. Writing is a process of self discovery and I’m always overwhelmed by that feeling when it’s happening in real time. Like you feel minute parts of yourself shifting into new positions, light shed in previously dark corners. It’s overwhelming and terrifying, yet tranquil and natural at the same time. I look forward to whatever I’ll find in the next writing project.

Anyway, I’m off to do a bit of translation work. It has been quite an eventful Friday for me over here, and my weekend is looking like it will be just as busy. How has your January been? I hope you’ve been taking good care of yourself. I leave you with a song by This Is The Kit called “Inside Outside.” It has a groovy bass line that I enjoy playing and straight up just vibing to. I recommend the album it's from if you’re in the market for something new to listen to.

That’s all for now. Until next time!

#diary #sumire-no-nikki

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msponies · 2 years

Note

What the shit did you smoke for you to make this blog inactive!?

okay this is a little fun a little sassy silly…… i dig it i vibe….. i’m currently at my grandparents house taking my dog out so i think it’s a good time to go through my past ~14 months and together we can see where i fell off the wagon (SLASH GEN i promise i’m not being snarky! i really do want you all who have supported me to know i’m okay + what i’ve been up to)

it’ll be under the cut, and as a thank you to all of you,

oh yeah. ohhhhhhhh yeah

july 2021: artfight happens, i do two attacks and then just stop drawing ANYTHING. i started sewing again briefly which was the second crafty hobby i had before drawing (first was origami!), so that eats up my time. if i remember i want to edit this when i’m home and add a picture from my old phone of me sitting on my bed with my cats, sewing a “sock creature” (PLEASE please if you have the time look up john murphy’s sock creatures, his first book was so formative to me)

august 21: i start working at spirit halloween!!

september 21: i become close friends with this guy Vincent, we had known of each other for a while and were mutual fans of each other’s art but here we start talking on a daily basis!!!

october 21: obviously The Big One for a spirit employee, it was halloween all month baby! i had three costumes (the third was Raph from tmnt but i don’t have a pic 😿)

(side note i LOVE the turtles, the reason i got that black wig in the goth cat costume was to cosplay casey jones from tmnt2012)

november 21: by the nature of spirit halloween i am now unemployed. i try hbwr seeds for the first time which to answer the original question is most likely what i smoked to make this blog inactive

december 21: I BREAK UP WITH MY EX!!!! i found his secret pr0$h!p twitter on christmas eve so i timed pretty much the exact midpoint between christmas and new years and broke it off then

january 22: i reorganize my life!! i get a new bed frame and other furniture for my room to celebrate my fresh start. i find a very rudimentary children’s sewing machine at goodwill and get fully back into making sock creatures!!!! plus i hack a 3ds, but i know we’re all doing that

february 22: this is where i really do just become burned out for a bit, i do JACK SQUAT except make a G2 Tier Maker:

march 22: i start taking job hunting seriously… ALSO me and Vinnie who i mentioned back in september keep talking and keep growing closer; i send him a playlist of songs that make me think of our ponysonas and for the first time it becomes really clear to each of us how much we like one another 💥 the playlist in question:

april 22: i turn 24! i also start working at taco bell. i also stop working at taco bell. i watch a good chunk of pac man and the ghostly adventures

may 22: probably my favorite month of the year thus far! i journal every day, go to the park, work hard around the house and in general do what feels gratifying to me!

june 22: i go to a pride event in my city and run into a girl who i bought a teddy bear purse from at spirit! she mentions applying at the McAlister’s that’s opening next month and i follow suit; it goes poifectly and my training starts at the beginning of…

july 22: DELI TIME! i’m trained to work prep which means folding up all the meat that gets used for sandwiches, plus slicing n dicing various produce. Vincent and I are like 💓official💓 at this point or whatever….. :)

august 22: i adjust to life behind the industrial-grade rotary slicer. i get back DEEP into webkinz. Vincent and i meet up for the first time!!!!!!!!!!!!!

september 22: loooots more boyfriend time 🎉 but also i go back to school 👎

now: well damn! i’m in a little bit of a rut in full honesty; i only have so much energy in a given day and i spend most of it on work and school. i am so grateful for everyone who has shown me patience, and i want to prove that it wasn’t “wasted” on me in any way. i still have a lot of personal work to do before i can post on a reliable schedule again

thank you :)

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dawnrider · 5 months

Note

Hi doll! I’m sending you these asks now for your 20 yr tomorrow.

Happy 20 Years Dawn! That’s so exciting! 💕You ready for some questions, because I wanna know so much.

1. What is your favorite story you’ve written? (It doesn’t have to be completed or even posted, just one that stands out for you.)

2. Do you have any projects coming up for this next year that you’re excited about?

3. Would you rather become a famous writer, being able to make money for doing something you love, or keep writing as a hobby for the rest of your life, but still really enjoying it?

4. What made you start writing in the first place?

5. Do anybody in your life outside of tumblr/fanfiction/ao3 know you write? What was their response/how do they feel about it now?

6. Is there anything you’d like to learn? (Could be a hobby, a new technique in your writing, a skill for work, improvement for something you already do,etc.)

7. What is something most people don’t know about you?

8. If you could write one paragraph (3-5 sentences) to describe your life, your experiences, your personality, who you are, what would it say?

9. Any advice for people who write/create, new beginners or experienced ones?

10. What is a goal you wish to accomplish this next year in regard to writing?

Well hi @heynikkiyousofine! Here goes!

1. What is your favorite story you’ve written? (It doesn’t have to be completed or even posted, just one that stands out for you.)

I think it's a toss up between To Sleep Perchance to Dream, How Does Your Garden Grow, and Given. They're all pretty different, but they all try to characterize our favorite idiots as close to canon as I could get them.

2. Do you have any projects coming up for this next year that you’re excited about?

I'm always tinkering, puttering, procrastinating. I'm excited to finish up Garden, which will hopefully be sooner rather than later. And Possibly Your Lying Smile, if the stars align properly. And of course, always excited for @inuparentsday in January!

3. Would you rather become a famous writer, being able to make money for doing something you love, or keep writing as a hobby for the rest of your life, but still really enjoying it?

That's a hard one. If I could still love it as much as I do and make money from it? I think that's a no brainer. But obviously the reality is a lot different. Writing doesn't pay the bills, especially not right away. So I can dream about it, but I think it will always just be a hobby, and that's ok.

4. What made you start writing in the first place?

I used to write silly stuff as a kid. Like 10/12 years old. I always wanted more story than what I read. So I made more. I started fanfiction in college though. I was inspired, was often alone, and had the free time between classes and while working overnights in my dorm.

5. Do anybody in your life outside of tumblr/fanfiction/ao3 know you write? What was their response/how do they feel about it now?

Just a neighbor friend, and now my best friend. Obviously Mister does too. My neighbor is an editor, so I asked for her help with the chapter Fundamental from Bushel and a Peck. I wanted an outside perspective and she was willing to help. My best friend I just recently told and she was very happy for me. She was amazed that I'd kept it secret for so long, but also impressed that I had done something for so long.

Mister is... He's not always that supportive. But it is what it is.

6. Is there anything you’d like to learn? (Could be a hobby, a new technique in your writing, a skill for work, improvement for something you already do, etc.)

I always dream about being able to do art. I can admit that I just don't have the patience to keep at it. I'm one of those people that doesn't stick with something if I think I suck at it. I do dabble with handwriting/hand lettering stuff and would like to work on it more.

7. What is something most people don’t know about you?

Uh.... Hell... lol I've mentioned it before, but maybe not recently. I am a swing dancer. Mainly Lindy Hop. I haven't gone as much recently with kids and COVID, but at one time I danced 4-6 nights a week. I was an instructor in my old city for years.

8. If you could write one paragraph (3-5 sentences) to describe your life, your experiences, your personality, who you are, what would it say?

I suppose I would say that I am someone who tries to take care of others, sometimes to the detriment of myself. It has been my mode of operation for most of my life. Writing is one way in which I am able to do something that is ultimately for me. (Though I share it with you all because I can and you're so kind about it!)

9. Any advice for people who write/create, new beginners or experienced ones?

Mostly that you should enjoy it. It was something we often said about dancing (as a hobby): Once it's not fun anymore, it becomes Work™. Don't make your hobby Work™. You are not obligated to anyone to create something in a certain way, in a certain timeframe, or even at all. If you choose to post your work, do it when you're ready to, not because someone is making demands of you.

10. What is a goal you wish to accomplish this next year in regard to writing?

Finishing WIPs where I can manage it. And moving older stuff from FFnet to AO3 after editing and modifying as needed.

#dawnrider fanfiction #20 year anniversary #AMA #ask me anything #writing advice

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obscurushydrae · 12 days

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Rules of Play

Please at least give it a read! Liking this post also means it’s more likely I will follow back, as I know you have RAU’d.

Updated 04/20/2024

ABOUT:

Kar/Karmun/Karthonic either-or. If you want to separate min from muse, call me by my middle name, Asher instead.

They/Them is cool.

From New York, so the timezone is EST.

Birthday’s January 1990, so 30+

Spoonie with AuDHD

Artist, and educator, so I can get busy.

You can reach me on here or on discord. Just ask.

Personal blog @karthonic.

Sci-Fi Muse: @stellevatum

GENERAL:

Above all else: Be Excellent to each other and party on, dudes!

Lurking for a bit before reaching out is fine, but I would like genuinely interested folks. Optional but I have an Interest Tracker for organization purposes.

This incarnation Kar is for Contemporary Supernatural/Fantasy/Mythology like verses. You can find the Og/Sci-Fi flavored Kar at @stellevatum.

While she's BPRD based, don’t sweat it if you don’t know the other stuff. If your fandom/verse has a way in, I can finagle her into all sorts of place (she's literally an cosmic horror at heart).

That ‘selective’ part comes into play. I have every right to not follow someone, decline a roleplay, just as you do. Just be polite and respectful.

Crossover/AU/Multiverse/Self Insert friendly. Not your thing, then feel free to not follow.

There will be casual mentions of recreational drug use, more often than not mentions of alcohol than drugs, but will be tagged upon request. Other possible triggers are her fatalistic humor.

This is not a content resource blog. If you’re here for the pretty pictures, aesthetics, or memes, this is not the blog for you.

Most art is mine but will be credited. If I reblog any art reposted without the original creator’s permission, let me know. I’ll remove it.

IN CHARACTER:

Compatible Fandoms (ie I am Familiar with): BPRD/Hellboy, Hades, Devil May Cry, Wolfenstein, Gravity Falls, WTNV, Obey Me!, Sandman, Good Omens, Hellsing, Persona, Durarara!!, Castlevania, Blood of Zeus, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Basically anything with demons/angels/gods and the like. I will interact with Hazbin Hotel/Helluva Boss muses, even though personally I don't vibe with Viv.

Kar is an ancient cosmic horror who was supposed to destroy all reality. Raised by mortals, so she thought she was. But she's also got other forms, which folks may see.

While not usually brought up, but Kar has attempted to end her life and self-harmed. Nowadays it’s usually just masked with fatalistic humor, recreational drug use, and lots of drinking.

There will be mentions of Nazis particularly of the occult sort, so if that makes you uncomfortable please feel free to step away.

SHIPPING:

That being said, don’t ask to ship with me and just…drop off. I believe in mutual enthusiasm. If you're no longer interested, just communicate.

This blog is multiship, meaning each relationship is treated as its own separate place in the multiverse unless discussed and agreed upon.

NSFW may be on here, or I might do it over discord. I'm playing it by vibes. As I don't really have any established romantic stuff since rebooting, I can't say with any certainty.

FOLLOWING/UNFOLLOWING:

Please don’t follow/interact if you’re under 21. If I follow anyone underage, it’s because I wasn’t able to access any about/ooc information, please don’t take it personally if I unfollow!

If I follow you or like a post but not follow, it's likely because I want to check out your rules but can't find a mobile friendly/ need time to look through things.

I don’t usually greet/interact with personal blogs, so side blogs off personals give me a heads up. Otherwise, I might miss you.

ASKS:

No Magic Anons, please!

There’s no need to wait to send me a meme if you’ve followed me for 5 minutes or 5 months, send the thing.

Reblog Karma is going to be enforced on this blog. That is, if you reblog an ask meme off me, please send me one. Otherwise, reblog the meme from @karref

THREADS:

Jump on any open post, there’s no need to ask permission, they’re there for that reason!

If you’d rather we move things to discord, just ask! I’ll set up a server just for us!

TAGGING/ HARD LIMITS:

Blood, Gore, Body Horror, Drugs, etc, will be tagged with (name); for instance drugs; . Special Tags on request.

Posts will be tagged upon request, just let me know!

If you read and understand this, I appreciate if you'd leave a like on the post, that way I know you have without forcing a password.

But if you'd like to message me, here's a DM icebreaker: What's your favorite extinct animal? (If you're lucky I may have cool fact about it.)

HOPE TO WRITE WITH YOU SOON! :D

#nav;

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majorxmaggiexboy · 1 year

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15 Questions 15 Mutuals

Rules: answer the questions and tag fifteen mutuals

tagged by @beterparker shgjsghjksl!

1. Are you named after anyone?

according to my mother it’s the phonetic spelling (it is not) of Michaela Quinn medicine woman bc she liked the way Sully, specifically, pronounced the woman’s name but she did NOT want people nicknaming me Mike so fast forward to last year when one of my coworkers nicknamed me Mickey,,,,,momsauce was,,,,devastated,,

2. When was the last time you cried?

*Noir Detective Voice* Thursday, January 5th, 2022, hours before being diagnosed with COVID-19 and unknowingly six days into actually having it,,,,,ngl if i was like, a cartoon character, it would have been adorable and i find it infuriating but i fully did the, eyes swimming, valiantly holding back tears, until momsauce looks at me and FLOODGATES AND “I really don’t feel good” AND *STARTS SOBBING*

3. Do you have kids?

yes i have two daughters, Amicia de Rune and Wednesday Addams thank you for asking

4. Do you use sarcasm a lot?

i don’t think what i use even counts as sarcasm, it’s too obnoxious

5. What's the first thing you notice about people?

usually just that they’re in the room

6. What's your eye colour?

brown

7. Scary movies or happy endings?

Happy Endings, though Bittersweet is also good. I like to have my emotions wrung out and turned into a baseball bat which is then used to ALMOST murder me but then the ending turns out to be a highly competent doctor which then Heals Me and waters my crops and builds me a little house in the countryside to live out my days in peace

8. Any special talents?

i think my developing-stories hobby counts as a talent? it doesn’t really qualify as ‘special’, but i do be coming up with some Stuff and can make some pretty big leaps from very small prompts on the fly, which i didn’t realize until a friend pointed it out.

oh, also don’t know if it counts as a talent since there’s no on and off switch on it but irl people tend to come tell me their problems/backstory/any Drama(tm) they have going on even if we’ve barely spoken before that so

9. Where were you born?

A hospital in Alabama

10. What are your hobbies?

Painstakingly outlining stories and then usually not writing them, daydreaming about Blorbos, analyzing fiction, crochet, painting, sewing, a few little videogames.

11. Have you any pets?

YES i have three boys their names are Norrell, Chellers, and Eggroll. Eggroll is actually the eldest, he is gray and fluffy and smaller than the others. He was an outside cat until last August, when we moved and brought him with us. He has been thoroughly enjoying his retirement from the outside cat life. Norrell is SealPoint and Squishy and has big paws and Chellers is a fluffy black cat with no bones, they’re both four. These three are perfect and silly and i love them so much

12. What sports do you play/have played?

I played Red Rover once. OH!! I did paintball once. I think we used to play foursquare fairly frequently.

13. How tall are you?

Last time i was actually measured it was 5′1/2″ but i think it’s more like 5′2″ now, surely.

14. Favorite subject in school?

Originally it was Math but then we hit that part where Math was work and Language Arts was intuitive and it’s been Language/related ever since.

15. Dream job?

Being paid to live as Madame from The Aristocats

Tagging:

@therapardalis, @cutecutejames, @brassandblue, @poploppege, @slow-burn-sally, @castledock, anybody else who would like to!

#jamers i know our mutual friend already tagged you but i'm tagging u too

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theresa-of-liechtenstein · 1 month

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did not, in fact, get the rest of the movements of the original piece before the end of term. did, in fact, get buzzed by a camera drone, show my gratitude to my conductor for the past term in the most truly cringeworthy way, and discover that the quartet has an affinity for mozart

the (complete) new movement we read is accompaniment for a song with a lot of pop rhythms and a modulation into a new key. but the funniest thing is that i swear to god it sounds like old school opm. i couldn’t describe how for the life of me. but i know my dad will start making up words to it when i practice at home.

other modern piece comments:

‘you are a ruminating beast from siberia, and we all know that’s how they are’

‘the spirit is willing but the notes are wrong.’

me: ‘wait, there are catholics in this?!’

honestly though the real star of rehearsal was the brief interlude in which we were videotaped playing the finale to haydn 104 for inclusion in a promotional video for the college of humanities and arts via, of all things, a small camera drone.

tita conductor to the drone operator: ‘and let us know when you are ready… to fly!’

also tita conductor to the drone operator: ‘will you please try not to chop my head off?’

something about the presence of the camera got her hamming it up it was SOO FUNNY 💀💀💀 she did a little hair flip before we all prepared to play. and when the drone came whizzing around the strings she was cuing me like she’d NEVER cued me before. like girl was just like. 🫵🏻😳

you did not make eye contact with me like this and point for that One measure during the concert 🤨

during the drone’s first pass through the room the breeze knocked the associate concertmaster’s part off the stand and i managed to nudge it back over to the firsts with my foot without looking off of my music 😭 i hope it was the right way around

i was actually grinning through the whole thing for once, mostly because i thought it was the funniest shit that i’d ever been put through in this orchestra

we then recorded an audio-only version of the finale and i really just told myself to let go and have fun with it. then tita conductor waited for the audio person to lower the mic before joking brightly, ‘okay! let’s do it all again!’

(we did not. thank god because i was tired.)

now remember how i’ve had a little affirmation/reminder to self stuck onto the top of my folder so i will always see it when looking over the stand? at the beginning of the school year it was ‘huwag kang matakot’ (don’t be afraid) but around january when i was going through a bout of imposter feelings i changed it to ‘magtiwala sa kanya’ (trust her)

tita conductor asked everyone to turn in their folders on impulse and i collected everyone’s but didnt realize id forgotten to do anything with the note to self so (equally impulsively) i wrote ‘thank you for this term’ on the note, stuck it to the front, and handed it in to her with the other folders and a brief explanation.

it was cringe of me lol. but she’s really done a lot. im so grateful. and she was touched.

then she lowkey forgot to open the usual classroom for me and the quartet so i had to go back and ask again and she told me ‘my mind is like a sieve. you have to remember to hold on to me.’ girl please lmao?

anyways we closed the night reading through eine kleine nachtmusik together. which we sound pretty great at considering we were reading. i wish id recorded it

and there ends another term with orchestra. it was a good one. one more for the year (and possibly ever with this group.) can’t wait to make the most of it :)

#em jumped up busker

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gumnut-logic · 1 year

Photo

We all love a piece of fanart. Art can communicate so much in just one glance.

If you are an artist and you feel like using this month to tackle some works-in-progress or create some new art, go for it…I know I have a couple that need attention.

Tag with #FanartAM and #FanartAM2023

So, what art?

Pretty much anything!

Traditional

Digital

Photomanips

Gifs

Fanvids

Craft work

Fandom inspired works

Anything that has required visual creativity.

And when?

To spread it out across the whole month, let’s focus on a type of art per week.

Week One (2 – 8 Jan) - Single character – portraits, full body, etc

Week Two (9– 15 Jan) - Landscapes and vehicles – where the character is only part or not the focus of the piece

Week Three (16 – 22 Jan) - Groups – more than one character

Week Four (23 – 31 Jan) - Everything else! Go for it! Everything counts :D

But I don’t create visual art!

Doesn’t matter! You can dig in by reblogging other artists’ art and showing your support. Or if you really want to create something and you are a writer, I certainly won’t object if you take the week theme and run with it in fic – or you could write a fic based on someone’s art (though you might want to check with the artist first if it is okay).

Reblogging vs. Reposting

This is basic netiquette, please conduct yourselves like the wonderful Thunderfam I know you are.

The Point

Nutty

(we did a fantastic job the last two years, let’s do this again and celebrate our artists :D )

#thunderbirds are go #thunderbirds #thunderbirds fanart #fanartam #fanartAM2023

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